Russia Confirms Accomplished Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Missile
Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the state's leading commander.
"We have conducted a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the general told the head of state in a broadcast conference.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, first announced in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to evade missile defences.
Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.
The national leader declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been conducted in the previous year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had partial success since 2016, based on an non-proliferation organization.
Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.
He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were found to be up to specification, based on a national news agency.
"Consequently, it exhibited high capabilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the news agency quoted the official as saying.
The missile's utility has been the subject of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in the past decade.
A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with global strike capacity."
Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, Russia confronts major obstacles in achieving operational status.
"Its induction into the state's inventory likely depends not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts noted.
"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and a mishap resulting in multiple fatalities."
A defence publication cited in the report asserts the missile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the weapon to be deployed across the country and still be capable to reach goals in the United States mainland."
The corresponding source also says the projectile can travel as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the earth, rendering it challenging for air defences to intercept.
The missile, designated an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered powered by a atomic power source, which is intended to activate after initial propulsion units have launched it into the air.
An inquiry by a reporting service last year identified a site 295 miles from the city as the possible firing point of the missile.
Utilizing orbital photographs from the recent past, an expert informed the agency he had detected nine horizontal launch pads being built at the facility.
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