Russia Confirms Effective Trial of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the country's top military official.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the commander reported to the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capacity to bypass defensive systems.

Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The head of state declared that a "final successful test" of the missile had been conducted in the previous year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, according to an arms control campaign group.

The military leader stated the projectile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the evaluation on October 21.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were determined to be meeting requirements, as per a local reporting service.

"Consequently, it exhibited advanced abilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency stated the general as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A previous study by a American military analysis unit concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Moscow encounters significant challenges in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the state's arsenal likely depends not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and a mishap causing multiple fatalities."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the study asserts the weapon has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the missile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to target targets in the American territory."

The same journal also says the missile can travel as low as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The missile, designated Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the sky.

An examination by a news agency the previous year identified a facility a considerable distance from the city as the possible firing point of the missile.

Using space-based photos from August 2024, an analyst reported to the service he had observed multiple firing positions in development at the site.

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