Russia Reports Successful Test of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Weapon

The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the state's senior general.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the general informed President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The low-flying experimental weapon, originally disclosed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the ability to evade defensive systems.

International analysts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been carried out in 2023, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, based on an arms control campaign group.

The general said the missile was in the sky for 15 hours during the trial on the specified date.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were found to be up to specification, as per a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it exhibited advanced abilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the media source quoted the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a global defence think tank commented the corresponding time, Russia confronts major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the nation's inventory potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of ensuring the reliable performance of the atomic power system," specialists stated.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident resulting in multiple fatalities."

A defence publication cited in the report asserts the weapon has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be based throughout the nation and still be equipped to target targets in the continental US."

The corresponding source also explains the weapon can travel as low as a very low elevation above the earth, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to stop.

The missile, designated Skyfall by an international defence pact, is thought to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the sky.

An examination by a reporting service last year located a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Utilizing orbital photographs from August 2024, an analyst informed the agency he had detected multiple firing positions being built at the site.

Associated Updates

• National Leader Approves Revisions to Nuclear Doctrine