Russia Announces Accomplished Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Weapon
The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the state's top military official.
"We have launched a prolonged flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov told the head of state in a public appearance.
The low-altitude advanced armament, initially revealed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to evade missile defences.
Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The president stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in the previous year, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had partial success since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.
The military leader reported the projectile was in the air for a significant duration during the test on 21 October.
He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be complying with standards, according to a domestic media outlet.
"As a result, it exhibited high capabilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency stated the general as saying.
The projectile's application has been the focus of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in recent years.
A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."
Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, the nation faces major obstacles in making the weapon viable.
"Its induction into the state's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of securing the reliable performance of the atomic power system," specialists wrote.
"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap resulting in several deaths."
A defence publication cited in the study claims the missile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be deployed across the country and still be equipped to target targets in the United States mainland."
The identical publication also explains the projectile can operate as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to engage.
The weapon, code-named Skyfall by a Western alliance, is thought to be propelled by a reactor system, which is supposed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a media outlet recently pinpointed a site a considerable distance north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the weapon.
Using satellite imagery from the recent past, an specialist told the outlet he had identified multiple firing positions being built at the site.
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