Russia Announces Accomplished Trial of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Weapon
Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the country's senior general.
"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the commander told President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.
The low-altitude advanced armament, initially revealed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the ability to avoid defensive systems.
Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.
The head of state stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been carried out in last year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an non-proliferation organization.
The military leader said the weapon was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the trial on the specified date.
He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were confirmed as up to specification, as per a local reporting service.
"Consequently, it exhibited advanced abilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the media source quoted the official as saying.
The projectile's application has been the topic of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in 2018.
A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."
Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization noted the same year, the nation confronts major obstacles in developing a functional system.
"Its entry into the country's inventory potentially relies not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists wrote.
"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and an accident causing a number of casualties."
A defence publication cited in the study asserts the missile has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the missile to be stationed across the country and still be capable to reach targets in the American territory."
The corresponding source also explains the weapon can fly as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above ground, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to intercept.
The weapon, code-named a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to activate after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the air.
An investigation by a reporting service the previous year located a location a considerable distance from the city as the probable deployment area of the missile.
Using satellite imagery from August 2024, an specialist told the outlet he had detected multiple firing positions under construction at the facility.
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