Moscow Reports Successful Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile

The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the state's senior general.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging prototype missile, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to evade missile defences.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president stated that a "final successful test" of the armament had been carried out in last year, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov reported the projectile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the evaluation on 21 October.

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were confirmed as complying with standards, as per a domestic media outlet.

"Consequently, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the outlet quoted the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, the nation confronts major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the state's inventory likely depends not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of securing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists stated.

"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and an accident leading to multiple fatalities."

A military journal referenced in the analysis states the missile has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the projectile to be based across the country and still be capable to reach objectives in the American territory."

The corresponding source also says the weapon can fly as low as 164 to 328 feet above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to stop.

The missile, designated an operational name by an international defence pact, is believed to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is intended to activate after initial propulsion units have sent it into the sky.

An investigation by a reporting service last year located a facility a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the armament.

Using orbital photographs from last summer, an analyst informed the agency he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the facility.

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