Moscow Reports Successful Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the country's top military official.

"We have conducted a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The low-altitude advanced armament, originally disclosed in 2018, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to bypass missile defences.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president said that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been held in the previous year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had limited accomplishment since several years ago, as per an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader stated the weapon was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the evaluation on the specified date.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were determined to be complying with standards, according to a national news agency.

"Therefore, it displayed superior performance to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency reported the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in recent years.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

However, as a global defence think tank noted the corresponding time, Russia encounters major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the country's arsenal likely depends not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts noted.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and an accident causing several deaths."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the analysis states the missile has a flight distance of between a substantial span, enabling "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be capable to target targets in the continental US."

The identical publication also says the missile can operate as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to intercept.

The missile, code-named a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is believed to be powered by a reactor system, which is supposed to engage after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the air.

An inquiry by a reporting service recently pinpointed a facility 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the armament.

Using space-based photos from the recent past, an expert told the service he had detected several deployment sites being built at the facility.

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