Russia Confirms Effective Test of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Weapon
The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the country's senior general.
"We have launched a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the commander told the head of state in a public appearance.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, first announced in recent years, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.
International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.
The head of state declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been carried out in 2023, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had moderate achievement since several years ago, according to an arms control campaign group.
Gen Gerasimov reported the weapon was in the sky for a significant duration during the evaluation on October 21.
He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were found to be up to specification, according to a local reporting service.
"As a result, it displayed high capabilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency reported the general 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 stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a singular system with intercontinental range capability."
Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute commented the corresponding time, the nation encounters considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.
"Its integration into the nation's stockpile likely depends not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists wrote.
"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap causing multiple fatalities."
A armed forces periodical quoted in the report states the missile has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the weapon to be stationed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to strike objectives in the American territory."
The same journal also notes the projectile can operate as low as a very low elevation above the surface, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to intercept.
The projectile, designated Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the sky.
An investigation by a media outlet the previous year pinpointed a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the weapon.
Utilizing orbital photographs from last summer, an specialist informed the service he had detected several deployment sites being built at the site.
Associated Updates
- President Authorizes Modifications to Nuclear Doctrine
