Russia Announces Successful Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the country's leading commander.
"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the general reported to President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid missile defences.
Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.
The president declared that a "final successful test" of the armament had been carried out in last year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an non-proliferation organization.
The general said the missile was in the sky for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October.
He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, as per a national news agency.
"Therefore, it displayed advanced abilities to bypass defensive networks," the news agency stated the official as saying.
The projectile's application has been the topic of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in recent years.
A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a singular system with worldwide reach potential."
Yet, as an international strategic institute noted the identical period, Russia confronts significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its integration into the nation's arsenal potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts noted.
"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and an incident causing several deaths."
A military journal referenced in the analysis claims the missile has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the missile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be able to target targets in the continental US."
The identical publication also explains the projectile can travel as low as a very low elevation above ground, making it difficult for air defences to engage.
The projectile, code-named a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is thought to be powered by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the air.
An examination by a media outlet the previous year located a facility 475km north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the armament.
Using orbital photographs from last summer, an expert informed the service he had detected several deployment sites in development at the facility.
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