Russia Confirms Accomplished Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the state's leading commander.
"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a vast distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov informed President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.
The low-flying experimental weapon, initially revealed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to evade missile defences.
Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.
The national leader stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been held in 2023, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had moderate achievement since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.
The general stated the projectile was in the sky for a significant duration during the test on 21 October.
He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were evaluated and were found to be complying with standards, as per a local reporting service.
"Therefore, it displayed high capabilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency reported the official as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.
A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."
Yet, as an international strategic institute observed the same year, Moscow encounters considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.
"Its entry into the state's inventory likely depends not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of ensuring the consistent operation of the atomic power system," specialists stated.
"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and an accident leading to multiple fatalities."
A defence publication referenced in the report states the weapon has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the projectile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be able to target objectives in the American territory."
The same journal also explains the weapon can travel as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the earth, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to engage.
The missile, referred to as an operational name by a Western alliance, is considered propelled by a reactor system, which is designed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the sky.
An examination by a reporting service the previous year located a location a considerable distance from the city as the possible firing point of the armament.
Using satellite imagery from the recent past, an expert reported to the service he had identified multiple firing positions being built at the site.
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