Moscow Confirms Effective Trial of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile

The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the country's senior general.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to avoid defensive systems.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in the previous year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had limited accomplishment since 2016, based on an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov stated the weapon was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the test on the specified date.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were determined to be meeting requirements, as per a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it displayed high capabilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet reported the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, the nation encounters significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the state's arsenal potentially relies not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident resulting in multiple fatalities."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the report asserts the weapon has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the weapon to be deployed throughout the nation and still be able to strike targets in the continental US."

The corresponding source also notes the weapon can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above the earth, causing complexity for defensive networks to intercept.

The projectile, designated Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is believed to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the sky.

An investigation by a reporting service last year pinpointed a site 295 miles north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the armament.

Employing orbital photographs from the recent past, an analyst told the outlet he had detected several deployment sites in development at the facility.

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