Moscow Confirms Successful Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Missile

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the country's leading commander.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov reported to the head of state in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in recent years, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid defensive systems.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The national leader said that a "final successful test" of the armament had been conducted in the previous year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an non-proliferation organization.

The general said the missile was in the air for fifteen hours during the test on 21 October.

He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were found to be up to specification, based on a local reporting service.

"Consequently, it displayed high capabilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the news agency stated the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in 2018.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

However, as an international strategic institute noted the identical period, the nation faces significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its integration into the nation's arsenal potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of ensuring the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists noted.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and a mishap resulting in several deaths."

A military journal referenced in the report asserts the projectile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the missile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to strike targets in the United States mainland."

The same journal also notes the projectile can operate as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The missile, designated a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is considered driven by a atomic power source, which is intended to engage after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the air.

An examination by a news agency recently identified a location 295 miles north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Employing satellite imagery from August 2024, an expert told the service he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the facility.

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