Russia Confirms Effective Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the country's senior general.

"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the commander told the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude prototype missile, first announced in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.

International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The head of state declared that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been held in last year, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.

The general said the weapon was in the air for fifteen hours during the test on the specified date.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were found to be up to specification, according to a national news agency.

"Consequently, it displayed superior performance to evade defensive networks," the media source stated the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

However, as an international strategic institute observed the same year, Moscow faces considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the nation's stockpile likely depends not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the dependable functioning of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts stated.

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

A defence publication quoted in the analysis states the projectile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be able to strike targets in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also says the weapon can operate as low as a very low elevation above the surface, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The weapon, designated Skyfall by a Western alliance, is believed to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the atmosphere.

An investigation by a media outlet last year located a site a considerable distance north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the armament.

Using orbital photographs from last summer, an analyst informed the agency he had identified several deployment sites in development at the site.

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