Moscow Announces Successful Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the state's top military official.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff the commander informed the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, initially revealed in recent years, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capability to evade defensive systems.

International analysts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.

The national leader said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been conducted in 2023, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had partial success since several years ago, based on an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov said the projectile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the trial on the specified date.

He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were determined to be complying with standards, according to a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to circumvent defensive networks," the news agency quoted the official as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in recent years.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank noted the identical period, Moscow faces major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the country's inventory likely depends not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of securing the reliable performance of the atomic power system," experts noted.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and an incident resulting in multiple fatalities."

A military journal referenced in the analysis claims the weapon has a flight distance of between a substantial span, enabling "the projectile to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be capable to strike objectives in the continental US."

The corresponding source also notes the missile can travel as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the earth, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.

The projectile, referred to as a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is thought to be driven by a reactor system, which is designed to activate after primary launch mechanisms have launched it into the air.

An investigation by a reporting service recently located a facility a considerable distance above the capital as the likely launch site of the missile.

Employing space-based photos from last summer, an specialist reported to the service he had identified nine horizontal launch pads being built at the location.

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