Moscow Confirms Successful Test of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the country's top military official.
"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the general told the Russian leader in a public appearance.
The low-altitude advanced armament, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to avoid defensive systems.
Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.
The head of state declared that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been conducted in the previous year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had partial success since the mid-2010s, based on an arms control campaign group.
Gen Gerasimov stated the weapon was in the air for a significant duration during the evaluation on 21 October.
He explained 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 exhibited high capabilities to bypass defensive networks," the news agency reported the commander as saying.
The missile's utility has been the focus of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in recent years.
A previous study by a American military analysis unit concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a unique weapon with global strike capacity."
Yet, as a foreign policy research organization noted the corresponding time, Russia encounters significant challenges in achieving operational status.
"Its entry into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.
"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident leading to a number of casualties."
A defence publication cited in the analysis claims the weapon has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the weapon to be based anywhere in Russia and still be able to target goals in the American territory."
The same journal also says the missile can fly as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the earth, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.
The weapon, referred to as a specific moniker by a Western alliance, is thought to be powered by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the air.
An inquiry by a news agency recently located a site 295 miles above the capital as the probable deployment area of the weapon.
Utilizing satellite imagery from last summer, an expert informed the agency he had identified nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.
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