Moscow Confirms Successful Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Missile

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the state's top military official.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the general reported to the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-altitude prototype missile, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to avoid defensive systems.

International analysts have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been carried out in 2023, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

The general said the weapon was in the sky for a significant duration during the test on October 21.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were confirmed as up to specification, according to a local reporting service.

"Consequently, it exhibited advanced abilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," 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 recent years.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Yet, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, the nation encounters considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the country's inventory arguably hinges not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," experts stated.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap leading to several deaths."

A armed forces periodical cited in the study claims the weapon has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the weapon to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to target objectives in the continental US."

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

The weapon, designated Skyfall by a Western alliance, is believed to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to engage after initial propulsion units have sent it into the sky.

An examination by a news agency last year pinpointed a facility 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the missile.

Employing space-based photos from last summer, an expert informed the agency he had observed several deployment sites under construction at the site.

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