Russia Announces Effective Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Weapon

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the state's top military official.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the commander informed the head of state in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude advanced armament, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to avoid anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The head of state said that a "final successful test" of the armament had been conducted in last year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had partial success since several years ago, as per an arms control campaign group.

The general reported the missile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the evaluation on 21 October.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were found to be up to specification, based on a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it displayed advanced abilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet quoted the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in 2018.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

However, as an international strategic institute commented the corresponding time, the nation encounters major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the dependable functioning of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists wrote.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap causing a number of casualties."

A military journal referenced in the analysis asserts the projectile has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the missile to be deployed across the country and still be equipped to reach targets in the continental US."

The same journal also notes the missile can fly as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, making it difficult for air defences to engage.

The weapon, code-named Skyfall by a Western alliance, is thought to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the air.

An investigation by a reporting service recently pinpointed a site 475km from the city as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Utilizing satellite imagery from last summer, an analyst told the agency he had observed several deployment sites under construction at the site.

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