Russia Announces Accomplished Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Missile
Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the nation's top military official.
"We have launched a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov reported to the head of state in a public appearance.
The low-altitude advanced armament, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to bypass missile defences.
International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.
The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been held in last year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had moderate achievement since 2016, based on an non-proliferation organization.
The general said the weapon was in the air for fifteen hours during the evaluation on the specified date.
He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were confirmed as complying with standards, according to a national news agency.
"Consequently, it displayed superior performance to evade missile and air defence systems," the media source reported the general as saying.
The missile's utility has been the topic of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in the past decade.
A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a singular system with global strike capacity."
Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank noted the corresponding time, Russia encounters considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the country's arsenal likely depends not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts stated.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an incident leading to several deaths."
A military journal referenced in the report asserts the weapon has a range of between a substantial span, enabling "the missile to be deployed across the country and still be equipped to reach objectives in the American territory."
The corresponding source also notes the weapon can travel as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to stop.
The projectile, code-named an operational name by an international defence pact, is thought to be propelled by a reactor system, which is supposed to engage after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the air.
An investigation by a news agency recently located a location a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the armament.
Employing satellite imagery from August 2024, an analyst reported to the outlet he had observed nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.
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