Moscow Reports Successful Test of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the country's senior general.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the commander informed the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-flying advanced armament, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to evade anti-missile technology.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The national leader stated that a "final successful test" of the missile had been held in the previous year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov said the weapon was in the air for 15 hours during the test on the specified date.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be up to specification, as per a domestic media outlet.

"Consequently, it displayed superior performance to circumvent defensive networks," the outlet stated the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was first announced in 2018.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the corresponding time, Russia confronts significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the state's inventory potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of ensuring the reliable performance of the atomic power system," analysts noted.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and a mishap leading to several deaths."

A military journal cited in the analysis asserts the missile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the weapon to be based anywhere in Russia and still be capable to reach goals in the American territory."

The same journal also notes the projectile can fly as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above ground, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The weapon, code-named an operational name by an international defence pact, is thought to be powered by a reactor system, which is designed to activate after initial propulsion units have sent it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a media outlet the previous year located a site 295 miles above the capital as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Employing orbital photographs from the recent past, an expert reported to the service he had detected nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.

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