Moscow Reports Successful Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the state's senior general.

"We have executed a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the general informed the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-altitude prototype missile, initially revealed in recent years, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to bypass defensive systems.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.

The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been carried out in 2023, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had moderate achievement since several years ago, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

The general stated the weapon was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were found to be up to specification, according to a local reporting service.

"Consequently, it demonstrated superior performance to bypass defensive networks," the news agency stated the general as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was first announced in 2018.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank noted the identical period, Russia faces considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the country's arsenal potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of securing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

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

A military journal cited in the analysis claims the missile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be stationed throughout the nation and still be equipped to strike targets in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also explains the projectile can travel as low as 50 to 100 metres above ground, making it difficult for defensive networks to engage.

The missile, referred to as Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is thought to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is designed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the air.

An investigation by a reporting service the previous year located a site 475km north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the missile.

Using satellite imagery from August 2024, an analyst told the service he had observed several deployment sites in development at the facility.

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