Moscow Announces Successful Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the country's top military official.
"We have launched a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov informed the head of state in a televised meeting.
The low-altitude advanced armament, first announced in 2018, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to evade missile defences.
Western experts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.
The head of state said that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been carried out in last year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had partial success since the mid-2010s, according to an disarmament advocacy body.
The general said the missile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the test on October 21.
He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were found to be complying with standards, based on a national news agency.
"Consequently, it displayed advanced abilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the outlet quoted the official as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.
A recent analysis by a American military analysis unit determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."
Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the corresponding time, the nation confronts significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its entry into the state's arsenal likely depends not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts stated.
"There have been several flawed evaluations, and an incident causing several deaths."
A military journal quoted in the study claims the weapon has a flight distance of between a substantial span, allowing "the projectile to be deployed across the country and still be capable to strike targets in the American territory."
The corresponding source also says the weapon can operate as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, making it difficult for defensive networks to intercept.
The projectile, designated an operational name by a foreign security organization, is believed to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to activate after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the sky.
An examination by a news agency recently located a location 295 miles above the capital as the possible firing point of the weapon.
Using space-based photos from last summer, an analyst informed the agency he had observed several deployment sites in development at the location.
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