Russia Confirms Accomplished Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the state's senior general.

"We have executed a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The low-flying advanced armament, first announced in 2018, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to avoid missile defences.

Western experts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been carried out in the previous year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had partial success since 2016, as per an arms control campaign group.

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

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were confirmed as complying with standards, as per a national news agency.

"Consequently, it exhibited advanced abilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the news agency quoted the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in 2018.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank commented the same year, the nation confronts significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the state's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an incident causing multiple fatalities."

A military journal referenced in the study states the missile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, enabling "the missile to be based across the country and still be able to strike targets in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also notes the weapon can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to intercept.

The weapon, referred to as Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is thought to be propelled by a reactor system, which is designed to activate after initial propulsion units have launched it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a news agency last year identified a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the weapon.

Utilizing orbital photographs from August 2024, an expert informed the agency he had observed multiple firing positions in development at the site.

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