Russia Announces Accomplished Trial of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the country's senior general.

"We have launched a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the general told the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-flying prototype missile, initially revealed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the ability to evade missile defences.

International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president said that a "final successful test" of the armament had been carried out in the previous year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, according to an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader reported the missile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the evaluation on October 21.

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were found to be meeting requirements, as per a local reporting service.

"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet quoted the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A recent analysis by a American military analysis unit concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization observed the same year, Russia encounters significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the state's arsenal potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of securing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists noted.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and an accident leading to a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the report asserts the weapon has a operational radius of between a substantial span, permitting "the weapon to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to target goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also says the projectile can fly as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, making it difficult for air defences to engage.

The missile, designated an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the air.

An investigation by a reporting service the previous year pinpointed a facility 295 miles from the city as the probable deployment area of the weapon.

Employing orbital photographs from last summer, an specialist told the agency he had observed multiple firing positions being built at the location.

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