Russia Confirms Accomplished Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Weapon
Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the nation's leading commander.
"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a vast distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the commander reported to the head of state in a broadcast conference.
The low-flying advanced armament, originally disclosed in 2018, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capacity to bypass missile defences.
Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.
The national leader stated that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been carried out in last year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since several years ago, according to an non-proliferation organization.
Gen Gerasimov reported the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the test on October 21.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were confirmed as complying with standards, according to a domestic media outlet.
"Therefore, it displayed advanced abilities to evade defensive networks," the outlet quoted the commander as saying.
The missile's utility has been the subject of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in the past decade.
A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with global strike capacity."
Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank commented the same year, Moscow encounters significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its induction into the nation's inventory likely depends not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists stated.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an incident leading to several deaths."
A defence publication cited in the study asserts the projectile has a flight distance of between a substantial span, enabling "the projectile to be deployed across the country and still be equipped to target targets in the United States mainland."
The same journal also explains the weapon can fly as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above ground, causing complexity for air defences to engage.
The missile, code-named an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the sky.
An inquiry by a news agency recently located a location a considerable distance from the city as the probable deployment area of the armament.
Employing satellite imagery from August 2024, an expert informed the service he had identified multiple firing positions under construction at the facility.
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