Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, Moscow's top general has said.
We have launched a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 14,000km (8,700-mile) distance, which is not the limit, Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.
The low-flying experimental weapon, first announced in 2018, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to evade missile defenses.
Western experts have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.
Putin stated that a final successful test of the weapon had been held in 2023, but the claim could not be independently verified. According to arms control group findings, of at least 13 known tests, only two had partial success since 2016.
Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the test on 21 October. He added that its vertical and horizontal maneuvering were tested and found to be up to specification, as reported by Russia's Tass news agency.
Therefore, it demonstrated high capabilities to bypass missile and air defense systems, Tass reported Gen Gerasimov as saying.
The missile's utility has been the subject of intense debate in military and defense circles since its initial announcement in 2018.
A 2021 report by the US Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center concluded: A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability. However, the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) noted significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
Its entry into Russia's inventory arguably hinges not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit, IISS analysts wrote.
There have been numerous flight-test failures and an accident resulting in several deaths.
A Russian military journal cited in the IISS report claims the missile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing the missile to be based anywhere in Russia and still reach targets in the continental US. The same journal also notes that the missile can fly as low as 50 to 100 meters above ground, complicating detection by air defenses.
The missile, code-named Skyfall by NATO, is believed to be powered by a nuclear reactor that activates following the launch by solid fuel rocket boosters.
Earlier investigations by Reuters indicated a facility located 475 km (295 miles) north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the weapon, with construction of nine horizontal launch pads ongoing as per satellite imagery identified by analyst Decker Eveleth.
