Moscow Announces Accomplished Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon
Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the state's senior general.
"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told the head of state in a televised meeting.
The terrain-hugging experimental weapon, initially revealed in recent years, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to evade defensive systems.
Western experts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.
The national leader stated that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been conducted in 2023, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had limited accomplishment since several years ago, based on an disarmament advocacy body.
The military leader reported the projectile was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on 21 October.
He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were confirmed as complying with standards, according to a local reporting service.
"Consequently, it demonstrated superior performance to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the outlet stated 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 the past decade.
A previous study by a American military analysis unit stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a singular system with worldwide reach potential."
Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Russia encounters considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.
"Its integration into the state's inventory arguably hinges not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," experts noted.
"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident leading to several deaths."
A defence publication referenced in the analysis claims the weapon has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the projectile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be capable to strike targets in the continental US."
The identical publication also says the weapon can travel as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.
The projectile, designated Skyfall by an international defence pact, is considered propelled by a reactor system, which is supposed to activate after initial propulsion units have launched it into the sky.
An inquiry by a news agency recently located a facility a considerable distance above the capital as the probable deployment area of the weapon.
Employing space-based photos from the recent past, an expert told the service he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the site.
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