Russia Reports Accomplished Test of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile
Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the country's senior general.
"We have launched a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the commander reported to the head of state in a public appearance.
The low-flying experimental weapon, originally disclosed in 2018, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.
International analysts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The president stated that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been conducted in last year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had limited accomplishment since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.
The general said the missile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the trial on the specified date.
He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were found to be meeting requirements, based on a local reporting service.
"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to bypass defensive networks," the news agency stated the general as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in recent years.
A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a singular system with worldwide reach potential."
However, as a global defence think tank observed the corresponding time, Russia encounters considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.
"Its entry into the state's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of ensuring the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an accident resulting in multiple fatalities."
A defence publication quoted in the analysis claims the projectile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the missile to be based across the country and still be equipped to strike objectives in the American territory."
The same journal also notes the missile can fly as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.
The missile, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a reactor system, which is supposed to activate after initial propulsion units have sent it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a reporting service last year identified a site 295 miles from the city as the probable deployment area of the armament.
Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an analyst informed the service he had detected multiple firing positions under construction at the location.
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