Russia Announces Accomplished Trial of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile

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

"We have launched a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the commander reported to the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude prototype missile, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to bypass defensive systems.

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

The head of state said that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been conducted in the previous year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had partial success since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.

The general reported the projectile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the test on 21 October.

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were found to be up to specification, according to a national news agency.

"As a result, it exhibited high capabilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source quoted the general as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in recent years.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, the nation confronts considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the country's arsenal likely depends not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the consistent operation of the atomic power system," experts wrote.

"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and an incident causing several deaths."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the analysis claims the missile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the weapon to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to strike goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also says the projectile can fly as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above ground, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to engage.

The missile, referred to as Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be powered by a reactor system, which is designed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the air.

An examination by a news agency recently pinpointed a site 475km above the capital as the likely launch site of the armament.

Utilizing space-based photos from last summer, an expert told the agency he had observed nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.

Connected News

• Head of State Endorses Amendments to Strategic Guidelines