Moscow Reports Successful Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Missile

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the country's top military official.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov reported to the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-flying prototype missile, initially revealed in recent years, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to bypass defensive systems.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been carried out in the previous year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had moderate achievement since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov reported the weapon was in the sky for fifteen hours during the test on the specified date.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be up to specification, as per a national news agency.

"Therefore, it displayed high capabilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the media source quoted the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute noted the corresponding time, Moscow confronts considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the country's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident resulting in a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the study claims the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the projectile to be based across the country and still be capable to reach targets in the continental US."

The corresponding source also says the projectile can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above ground, rendering it challenging for air defences to engage.

The projectile, referred to as an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered propelled by a reactor system, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the atmosphere.

An examination by a media outlet last year pinpointed a site 295 miles from the city as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Using space-based photos from August 2024, an analyst reported to the agency he had identified several deployment sites being built at the location.

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