Moscow Announces Effective Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the state's senior general.
"We have launched a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the commander informed the head of state in a televised meeting.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.
International analysts have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.
The national leader said that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been conducted in 2023, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had moderate achievement since 2016, as per an arms control campaign group.
The military leader reported the weapon was in the sky for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.
He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be meeting requirements, according to a local reporting service.
"As a result, it displayed high capabilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet stated the commander as saying.
The missile's utility has been the subject of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.
A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute commented the corresponding time, Russia faces significant challenges in achieving operational status.
"Its induction into the country's inventory arguably hinges not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the dependable functioning of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists stated.
"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap causing several deaths."
A defence publication cited in the report asserts the missile has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be deployed across the country and still be able to target objectives in the American territory."
The corresponding source also says the missile can travel as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, making it difficult for defensive networks to intercept.
The projectile, designated Skyfall by a Western alliance, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a reporting service the previous year identified a location a considerable distance from the city as the likely launch site of the missile.
Using orbital photographs from the recent past, an specialist told the service he had identified multiple firing positions being built at the location.
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