Russia Announces Successful Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the state's senior general.
"We have executed a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the general told President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.
The low-altitude advanced armament, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to evade defensive systems.
Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The president stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been conducted in last year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had moderate achievement since 2016, according to an non-proliferation organization.
The military leader stated the projectile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the evaluation on October 21.
He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, based on a national news agency.
"Therefore, it exhibited advanced abilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the news agency reported the official as saying.
The projectile's application has been the subject of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in recent years.
A previous study by a American military analysis unit stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
However, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Russia faces major obstacles in making the weapon viable.
"Its induction into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts stated.
"There have been several flawed evaluations, and an accident resulting in several deaths."
A military journal quoted in the analysis states the missile has a range of between a substantial span, permitting "the missile to be based throughout the nation and still be able to target goals in the continental US."
The corresponding source also explains the projectile can operate as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to stop.
The projectile, code-named an operational name by a Western alliance, is believed to be driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the atmosphere.
An investigation by a reporting service last year located a location 295 miles from the city as the possible firing point of the missile.
Employing satellite imagery from August 2024, an specialist told the outlet he had detected multiple firing positions under construction at the location.
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