🔗 Share this article Moscow Reports Effective Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Cruise Missile The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the nation's top military official. "We have conducted a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the general told the Russian leader in a televised meeting. The terrain-hugging advanced armament, originally disclosed in recent years, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capacity to evade defensive systems. Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it. The president declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been held in the previous year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had partial success since several years ago, as per an disarmament advocacy body. The military leader stated the missile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October. He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were found to be complying with standards, according to a domestic media outlet. "Consequently, it displayed superior performance to evade missile and air defence systems," the news agency quoted the general as saying. The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in recent years. A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a distinctive armament with global strike capacity." Yet, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, the nation faces major obstacles in achieving operational status. "Its entry into the state's inventory likely depends not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote. "There were several flawed evaluations, and a mishap causing several deaths." A defence publication quoted in the analysis claims the missile has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the missile to be based across the country and still be equipped to reach objectives in the United States mainland." The identical publication also says the weapon can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to stop. The weapon, code-named a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is considered propelled by a reactor system, which is intended to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the sky. An investigation by a news agency recently pinpointed a site a considerable distance from the city as the possible firing point of the armament. Employing space-based photos from the recent past, an expert told the agency he had identified nine horizontal launch pads in development at the facility. Related Developments President Authorizes Revisions to Strategic Guidelines