Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the nation's senior general.
"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov told the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.
The low-flying experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to evade missile defences.
Western experts have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.
The national leader stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in 2023, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, according to an disarmament advocacy body.
The general stated the weapon was in the air for 15 hours during the test on October 21.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were confirmed as meeting requirements, as per a domestic media outlet.
"Therefore, it exhibited high capabilities to bypass defensive networks," the outlet reported the official as saying.
The projectile's application has been the topic of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.
A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a singular system with intercontinental range capability."
Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, Russia encounters major obstacles in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the nation's arsenal likely depends not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of securing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," experts noted.
"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap resulting in multiple fatalities."
A military journal cited in the study states the weapon has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the missile to be deployed across the country and still be equipped to reach goals in the continental US."
The same journal also notes the missile can fly as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, rendering it challenging for air defences to stop.
The missile, code-named Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is considered powered by a atomic power source, which is intended to engage after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the air.
An inquiry by a media outlet the previous year identified a site 475km from the city as the possible firing point of the armament.
Using satellite imagery from the recent past, an specialist informed the outlet he had observed multiple firing positions in development at the location.
Tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for exploring emerging technologies and their impact on society.
