Russia Confirms Effective Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Missile

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the country's senior general.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capacity to avoid anti-missile technology.

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

The head of state declared that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been carried out in 2023, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.

The military leader said the missile was in the air for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be complying with standards, based on a national news agency.

"Consequently, it displayed superior performance to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency stated the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was first announced in recent years.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a singular system with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization commented the corresponding time, Moscow confronts significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the country's arsenal arguably hinges not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts stated.

"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and an accident leading to a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the study states the projectile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the weapon to be stationed throughout the nation and still be capable to strike targets in the continental US."

The corresponding source also explains the projectile can travel as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above ground, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to intercept.

The projectile, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is thought to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the sky.

An examination by a media outlet recently identified a facility 475km above the capital as the likely launch site of the armament.

Employing satellite imagery from August 2024, an expert told the outlet he had detected nine horizontal launch pads being built at the location.

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