Russia Reports Effective Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile
Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the state's senior general.
"We have executed a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the commander informed the head of state in a broadcast conference.
The terrain-hugging advanced armament, initially revealed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to evade defensive systems.
Western experts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The president declared that a "final successful test" of the missile had been held in last year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had partial success since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.
The military leader reported the projectile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the test on the specified date.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were found to be meeting requirements, as per a domestic media outlet.
"Therefore, it displayed advanced abilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the media source stated the general as saying.
The projectile's application has been the subject of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in recent years.
A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."
However, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, Russia faces significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its induction into the state's stockpile potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the atomic power system," analysts wrote.
"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and an accident causing a number of casualties."
A defence publication quoted in the analysis claims the missile has a range of between a substantial span, allowing "the weapon to be based across the country and still be capable to reach goals in the continental US."
The same journal also notes the weapon can travel as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above ground, causing complexity for defensive networks to intercept.
The missile, designated Skyfall by a Western alliance, is believed to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to engage after initial propulsion units have launched it into the sky.
An investigation by a reporting service recently pinpointed a site 295 miles north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the missile.
Employing orbital photographs from last summer, an expert informed the outlet he had observed multiple firing positions under construction at the site.
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