Moscow Announces Accomplished Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile
The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the country's leading commander.
"We have launched a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.
The low-altitude prototype missile, first announced in the past decade, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capacity to evade missile defences.
International analysts have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.
The national leader said that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been carried out in last year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had moderate achievement since 2016, based on an disarmament advocacy body.
Gen Gerasimov reported the missile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the trial on October 21.
He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be complying with standards, based on a national news agency.
"Consequently, it exhibited superior performance to evade defensive networks," the outlet quoted the commander as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.
A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with intercontinental range capability."
However, as a foreign policy research organization observed the corresponding time, the nation confronts considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of securing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," specialists stated.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap leading to a number of casualties."
A armed forces periodical cited in the analysis states the missile has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the missile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be equipped to target targets in the American territory."
The identical publication also says the weapon can operate as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the earth, making it difficult for defensive networks to intercept.
The weapon, referred to as an operational name by an international defence pact, is believed to be powered by a atomic power source, which is designed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the air.
An inquiry by a reporting service last year identified a facility 475km from the city as the likely launch site of the weapon.
Utilizing space-based photos from the recent past, an analyst informed the outlet he had identified several deployment sites in development at the facility.
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