Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the nation's top military official.
"We have launched a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the general informed President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.
The low-altitude prototype missile, first announced in recent years, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the ability to avoid missile defences.
Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.
The head of state stated that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been held in 2023, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.
The military leader said the missile was in the sky for a significant duration during the evaluation on 21 October.
He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were confirmed as up to specification, according to a national news agency.
"As a result, it demonstrated superior performance to bypass defensive networks," the media source quoted the general as saying.
The projectile's application has been the focus of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in 2018.
A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
However, as a foreign policy research organization noted the corresponding time, the nation confronts significant challenges in achieving operational status.
"Its integration into the nation's inventory potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists noted.
"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident causing several deaths."
A military journal referenced in the study states the missile has a flight distance of between a substantial span, enabling "the projectile to be based throughout the nation and still be able to strike targets in the continental US."
The identical publication also says the weapon can fly as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to stop.
The weapon, code-named Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is thought to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the atmosphere.
An inquiry by a reporting service last year identified a facility 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the weapon.
Using satellite imagery from August 2024, an specialist informed the agency he had detected nine horizontal launch pads in development at the location.
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