Moscow Reports Successful Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the nation's top military official.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the commander reported to President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude advanced armament, originally disclosed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to avoid anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The national leader declared that a "final successful test" of the missile had been conducted in 2023, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

The military leader said the weapon was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were confirmed as up to specification, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it exhibited advanced abilities to circumvent defensive networks," the media source quoted the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was first announced in 2018.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization noted the same year, the nation faces major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the state's inventory likely depends not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists wrote.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap leading to multiple fatalities."

A defence publication referenced in the analysis states the weapon has a range of between a substantial span, permitting "the weapon to be stationed throughout the nation and still be able to strike goals in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also explains the projectile can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, making it difficult for air defences to engage.

The missile, designated an operational name by a foreign security organization, is thought to be powered by a reactor system, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the sky.

An examination by a reporting service the previous year located a site 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the missile.

Utilizing orbital photographs from last summer, an analyst reported to the agency he had identified several deployment sites in development at the facility.

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