Russia Announces Effective Trial of Nuclear-Powered Burevestnik Weapon

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the nation's leading commander.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the general informed the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-flying experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid defensive systems.

International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The national leader said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been conducted in 2023, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had partial success since several years ago, based on an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov stated the projectile was in the sky for a significant duration during the evaluation on the specified date.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were confirmed as complying with standards, based on a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it exhibited advanced abilities to evade defensive networks," the news agency quoted the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in the past decade.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

Yet, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, the nation encounters considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the nation's inventory likely depends not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," experts stated.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap causing several deaths."

A defence publication quoted in the report states the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the weapon to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to reach targets in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the weapon can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.

The weapon, code-named a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is thought to be powered by a reactor system, which is supposed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the air.

An examination by a news agency the previous year located a site a considerable distance above the capital as the likely launch site of the missile.

Utilizing satellite imagery from August 2024, an specialist reported to the service he had identified nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.

Related Developments

• Head of State Endorses Amendments to Nuclear Doctrine