Moscow Announces Effective Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
Russia has tested the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the nation's top military official.
"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the commander informed the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.
The low-altitude prototype missile, originally disclosed in recent years, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to bypass defensive systems.
Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The national leader said that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been conducted in last year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, based on an non-proliferation organization.
The military leader reported the weapon was in the sky for fifteen hours during the test on the specified date.
He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, based on a domestic media outlet.
"Consequently, it exhibited high capabilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the outlet reported the commander as saying.
The projectile's application has been the subject of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in 2018.
A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."
Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization commented the corresponding time, Moscow faces major obstacles in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the state's inventory arguably hinges not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the atomic power system," experts wrote.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an accident leading to a number of casualties."
A armed forces periodical quoted in the analysis states the projectile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the missile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be equipped to reach goals in the American territory."
The corresponding source also explains the weapon can fly as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above ground, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to engage.
The missile, code-named a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is thought to be powered by a reactor system, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the atmosphere.
An inquiry by a news agency the previous year pinpointed a site 295 miles north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the armament.
Employing satellite imagery from the recent past, an analyst reported to the agency he had identified multiple firing positions under construction at the site.
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