Russia Confirms Accomplished Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the country's leading commander.

"We have launched a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The low-flying prototype missile, first announced in recent years, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to bypass defensive systems.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.

The president stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been conducted in the previous year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, based on an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader said the projectile was in the sky for a significant duration during the evaluation on 21 October.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were found to be complying with standards, according to a local reporting service.

"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent defensive networks," the outlet stated the general as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in 2018.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

Yet, as an international strategic institute noted the identical period, Russia faces significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its integration into the nation's arsenal likely depends not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of securing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts wrote.

"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and an accident resulting in several deaths."

A military journal referenced in the report states the projectile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the projectile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be able to reach targets in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also explains the projectile can fly as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.

The missile, code-named an operational name by a foreign security organization, is considered propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to activate after initial propulsion units have launched it into the sky.

An inquiry by a reporting service the previous year identified a facility 295 miles from the city as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Employing space-based photos from the recent past, an expert informed the agency he had detected several deployment sites being built at the site.

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