Russia Announces Effective Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Missile

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the nation's top military official.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov told the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, first announced in the past decade, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to avoid anti-missile technology.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been held in 2023, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov reported the missile was in the air for fifteen hours during the evaluation on 21 October.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, based on a national news agency.

"Consequently, it exhibited advanced abilities to bypass defensive networks," the media source quoted the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

Yet, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, Moscow confronts major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the nation's inventory likely depends not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists stated.

"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and an incident leading to several deaths."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the report states the projectile has a range of between a substantial span, permitting "the projectile to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to reach objectives in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also explains the weapon can travel as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the earth, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to intercept.

The missile, referred to as an operational name by an international defence pact, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the atmosphere.

An investigation by a media outlet the previous year located a location 475km above the capital as the likely launch site of the missile.

Employing space-based photos from last summer, an specialist informed the service he had detected several deployment sites in development at the location.

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