Russia Confirms Successful Trial of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Weapon

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the nation's top military official.

"We have launched a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov reported to the head of state in a televised meeting.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, initially revealed in recent years, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to bypass defensive systems.

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

The national leader stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in the previous year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had partial success since 2016, according to an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov stated the projectile was in the air for a significant duration during the trial on 21 October.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be complying with standards, according to a national news agency.

"As a result, it exhibited advanced abilities to evade defensive networks," the outlet reported the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in recent years.

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."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization commented the corresponding time, the nation confronts major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts noted.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and an accident resulting in a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the study asserts the weapon has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be based across the country and still be able to strike goals in the continental US."

The identical publication also explains the projectile can travel as low as a very low elevation above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The weapon, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is considered powered by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to engage after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the atmosphere.

An examination by a media outlet last year pinpointed a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the armament.

Using satellite imagery from last summer, an analyst told the agency he had detected multiple firing positions in development at the site.

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