Russia Announces Accomplished Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile

Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the state's leading commander.

"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the general informed the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging prototype missile, originally disclosed in 2018, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to avoid missile defences.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The president stated that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been held in last year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

The military leader reported the projectile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the test on 21 October.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a national news agency.

"As a result, it displayed superior performance to evade defensive networks," the media source stated the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization commented the identical period, Russia confronts major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the country's stockpile likely depends not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident leading to several deaths."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the study states the weapon has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the missile to be based across the country and still be equipped to target goals in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also notes the projectile can operate as low as a very low elevation above the surface, making it difficult for defensive networks to engage.

The weapon, code-named a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is thought to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the air.

An examination by a media outlet last year identified a location 295 miles north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the armament.

Using satellite imagery from last summer, an specialist informed the agency he had detected nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.

Connected News

• National Leader Approves Amendments to Atomic Policy