Russia Reports Effective Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Missile

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the nation's top military official.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the commander reported to the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude prototype missile, initially revealed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the ability to avoid missile defences.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The head of state declared that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been conducted in 2023, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the evaluation on October 21.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were confirmed as up to specification, according to a local reporting service.

"As a result, it demonstrated advanced abilities to bypass defensive networks," the news agency quoted the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization noted the same year, Moscow faces major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the country's stockpile likely depends not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts stated.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident resulting in a number of casualties."

A military journal quoted in the report claims the missile has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the weapon to be stationed across the country and still be able to reach targets in the continental US."

The corresponding source also notes the projectile can fly as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to engage.

The projectile, code-named Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is thought to be powered by a reactor system, which is designed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the sky.

An investigation by a news agency the previous year located a facility 295 miles from the city as the likely launch site of the armament.

Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an specialist reported to the agency he had observed several deployment sites being built at the facility.

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