Russia Announces Accomplished Test of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the state's senior general.

"We have launched a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the general informed the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude prototype missile, first announced in recent years, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to evade defensive systems.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been conducted in last year, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had limited accomplishment since 2016, as per an arms control campaign group.

The general stated the projectile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the test on 21 October.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were determined to be meeting requirements, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it demonstrated high capabilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency reported the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was first announced in 2018.

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a global defence think tank noted the corresponding time, the nation confronts significant challenges in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the state's arsenal potentially relies not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts noted.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident causing several deaths."

A armed forces periodical cited in the report states the projectile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the missile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be equipped to target targets in the American territory."

The corresponding source also says the missile can operate as low as 164 to 328 feet above ground, making it difficult for defensive networks to engage.

The weapon, referred to as an operational name by an international defence pact, is thought to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is intended to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the sky.

An examination by a news agency the previous year identified a facility 295 miles above the capital as the probable deployment area of the armament.

Utilizing satellite imagery from the recent past, an analyst informed the agency he had observed multiple firing positions being built at the site.

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