Russia Reports Effective Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the country's senior general.
"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the commander reported to the Russian leader in a televised meeting.
The terrain-hugging advanced armament, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid missile defences.
International analysts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.
The head of state stated that a "final successful test" of the missile had been conducted in 2023, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had limited accomplishment since several years ago, as per an non-proliferation organization.
Gen Gerasimov stated the projectile was in the sky for a significant duration during the evaluation on October 21.
He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were determined to be up to specification, according to a domestic media outlet.
"Therefore, it exhibited advanced abilities to circumvent defensive networks," the outlet reported the general as saying.
The projectile's application has been the focus of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in recent years.
A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."
Yet, as a global defence think tank observed the same year, Moscow encounters significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its integration into the state's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.
"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident leading to several deaths."
A armed forces periodical quoted in the study claims the missile has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the missile to be based anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to target targets in the American territory."
The identical publication also notes the missile can travel as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to engage.
The projectile, code-named Skyfall by a Western alliance, is believed to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to activate after initial propulsion units have launched it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a news agency last year pinpointed a site a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the missile.
Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an specialist told the service he had detected multiple firing positions under construction at the facility.
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