Russia Announces Accomplished Trial of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Missile

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the nation's senior general.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the commander informed the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, originally disclosed in 2018, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to avoid anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been held in 2023, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had moderate achievement since several years ago, as per an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov stated the projectile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the trial on the specified date.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be up to specification, as per a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it exhibited superior performance to bypass defensive networks," the news agency quoted the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in 2018.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a global defence think tank commented the same year, Russia faces major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the state's arsenal arguably hinges not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," experts stated.

"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident causing a number of casualties."

A defence publication quoted in the analysis claims the projectile has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the projectile to be based across the country and still be capable to strike objectives in the American territory."

The same journal also says the missile can fly as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to stop.

The weapon, designated Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is believed to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to activate after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a reporting service recently identified a location 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Utilizing space-based photos from the recent past, an analyst informed the agency he had detected several deployment sites being built at the site.

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