Moscow Reports Accomplished Trial of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Cruise Missile
The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the nation's leading commander.
"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the general told the head of state in a televised meeting.
The terrain-hugging prototype missile, first announced in 2018, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to evade anti-missile technology.
Western experts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The head of state declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been held in the previous year, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had partial success since several years ago, based on an disarmament advocacy body.
The general reported the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the trial on 21 October.
He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were confirmed as meeting requirements, as per a domestic media outlet.
"As a result, it demonstrated high capabilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the media source reported the official as saying.
The missile's utility has been the topic of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in 2018.
A previous study by a foreign defence research body stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a unique weapon with global strike capacity."
However, as a global defence think tank noted the corresponding time, the nation confronts significant challenges in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the country's inventory arguably hinges not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of securing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists noted.
"There were several flawed evaluations, and a mishap causing multiple fatalities."
A military journal quoted in the study claims the weapon has a operational radius of between a substantial span, allowing "the weapon to be based throughout the nation and still be capable to strike targets in the American territory."
The identical publication also says the missile can travel as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to engage.
The projectile, designated an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered propelled by a reactor system, which is intended to engage after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a reporting service last year pinpointed a location 295 miles from the city as the possible firing point of the missile.
Employing satellite imagery from the recent past, an analyst reported to the service he had observed nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.
Connected News
- Head of State Endorses Amendments to Atomic Policy