Russia Announces Accomplished Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Weapon

The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the state's top military official.

"We have conducted a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the general reported to the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging experimental weapon, first announced in 2018, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capacity to evade anti-missile technology.

International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The head of state said that a "final successful test" of the missile had been carried out in 2023, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had partial success since several years ago, according to an arms control campaign group.

Gen Gerasimov stated the missile was in the air for fifteen hours during the test on the specified date.

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

"Therefore, it exhibited advanced abilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the media source stated the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank commented the corresponding time, the nation confronts major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the country's arsenal potentially relies not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of ensuring the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts wrote.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an accident causing several deaths."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the report claims the missile has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be capable to reach objectives in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the missile can travel as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, making it difficult for defensive networks to engage.

The missile, designated an operational name by a Western alliance, is thought to be powered by a reactor system, which is designed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the air.

An investigation by a media outlet the previous year pinpointed a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Utilizing satellite imagery from August 2024, an specialist told the service he had identified nine horizontal launch pads being built at the facility.

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