Russia Reports Effective Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile
The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the country's top military official.
"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a vast distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the general informed President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.
The low-flying prototype missile, first announced in 2018, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.
Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.
The head of state said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in last year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had partial success since 2016, according to an disarmament advocacy body.
The general reported the projectile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the test on October 21.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were confirmed as up to specification, based on a domestic media outlet.
"Consequently, it displayed advanced abilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency stated the commander as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in the past decade.
A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."
Yet, as an international strategic institute noted the identical period, Russia encounters major obstacles in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the nation's arsenal likely depends not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of ensuring the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts noted.
"There were several flawed evaluations, and a mishap causing multiple fatalities."
A defence publication quoted in the analysis states the missile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the missile to be stationed across the country and still be capable to strike targets in the American territory."
The identical publication also notes the missile can travel as low as 50 to 100 metres above ground, rendering it challenging for air defences to intercept.
The missile, code-named an operational name by an international defence pact, is believed to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the sky.
An investigation by a media outlet recently located a facility 475km above the capital as the probable deployment area of the missile.
Utilizing space-based photos from August 2024, an expert informed the service he had identified nine horizontal launch pads under construction at the location.
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