Russia Confirms Successful Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the state's top military official.
"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a vast distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov informed the Russian leader in a televised meeting.
The low-flying experimental weapon, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to bypass defensive systems.
International analysts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.
The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been conducted in last year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an disarmament advocacy body.
The general said the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the test on October 21.
He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were confirmed as up to specification, as per a local reporting service.
"As a result, it exhibited advanced abilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source reported the official as saying.
The missile's utility has been the subject of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was first announced in the past decade.
A recent analysis by a American military analysis unit concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
Yet, as an international strategic institute observed the corresponding time, the nation encounters significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its entry into the nation's arsenal arguably hinges not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts stated.
"There were several flawed evaluations, and a mishap causing several deaths."
A armed forces periodical referenced in the analysis states the weapon has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the missile to be deployed across the country and still be capable to reach objectives in the continental US."
The corresponding source also says the missile can operate as low as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, making it difficult for defensive networks to engage.
The missile, code-named a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is considered driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the air.
An inquiry by a reporting service the previous year identified a location 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the missile.
Employing satellite imagery from the recent past, an expert told the agency he had detected nine horizontal launch pads under construction at the site.
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