Russia Confirms Successful Trial of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the nation's leading commander.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the commander told the head of state in a televised meeting.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, first announced in recent years, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid defensive systems.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The national leader stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been carried out in 2023, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had moderate achievement since several years ago, according to an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov said the weapon was in the sky for 15 hours during the test on the specified date.

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were confirmed as meeting requirements, as per a national news agency.

"Consequently, it exhibited advanced abilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet quoted the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Yet, as an international strategic institute commented the identical period, the nation encounters major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the country's inventory likely depends not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the atomic power system," specialists stated.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and an incident leading to a number of casualties."

A military journal cited in the report claims the weapon has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the missile to be based throughout the nation and still be equipped to strike targets in the continental US."

The same journal also says the missile can fly as low as a very low elevation above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The projectile, designated a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the atmosphere.

An investigation by a news agency the previous year identified a location 475km from the city as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Employing orbital photographs from last summer, an analyst told the agency he had detected nine horizontal launch pads in development at the location.

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