Moscow Confirms Effective Test of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the nation's senior general.

"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the commander reported to the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, originally disclosed in recent years, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.

The president said that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been held in the previous year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had partial success since several years ago, based on an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader reported the projectile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the test on October 21.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be meeting requirements, as per a national news agency.

"As a result, it displayed high capabilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the media source reported the official as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in 2018.

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

However, as a global defence think tank observed the identical period, Moscow faces significant challenges in achieving operational status.

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

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap resulting in several deaths."

A armed forces periodical cited in the analysis states the missile has a flight distance of between a substantial span, allowing "the missile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be able to strike objectives in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the missile can travel as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above ground, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to intercept.

The missile, designated an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the atmosphere.

An inquiry by a media outlet recently pinpointed a location 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the missile.

Utilizing orbital photographs from last summer, an specialist reported to the outlet he had observed multiple firing positions being built at the site.

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