Russia Announces Effective Trial of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Weapon

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the country's senior general.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the commander informed President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The low-flying advanced armament, originally disclosed in 2018, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The head of state declared that a "final successful test" of the armament had been conducted in last year, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had partial success since the mid-2010s, according to an arms control campaign group.

The military leader reported the projectile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the test on 21 October.

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be up to specification, according to a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it exhibited advanced abilities to bypass defensive networks," the news agency quoted the general as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in 2018.

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

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank commented the same year, Russia confronts major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its integration into the nation's inventory potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of ensuring the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists noted.

"There occurred several flawed evaluations, and an incident causing a number of casualties."

A military journal quoted in the study asserts the weapon has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the missile to be based across the country and still be equipped to strike goals in the American territory."

The corresponding source also says the missile can fly as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The weapon, designated Skyfall by a Western alliance, is thought to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to activate after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.

An inquiry by a media outlet last year identified a site a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the missile.

Utilizing space-based photos from the recent past, an analyst told the agency he had detected multiple firing positions in development at the site.

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