Russia Confirms Successful Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Missile

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the country's leading commander.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying prototype missile, initially revealed in recent years, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to bypass anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims 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 statement could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had limited accomplishment since 2016, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

The military leader reported the weapon was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the test on October 21.

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be up to specification, as per a national news agency.

"Therefore, it exhibited high capabilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the news agency quoted the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization observed the corresponding time, Moscow encounters significant challenges in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the nation's arsenal arguably hinges not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the atomic power system," specialists wrote.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and an incident resulting in a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the study states the weapon has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be based anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to reach targets in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the projectile can operate as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to intercept.

The projectile, code-named Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is believed to be driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to activate after initial propulsion units have sent it into the atmosphere.

An investigation by a news agency the previous year identified a facility a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the missile.

Using satellite imagery from the recent past, an expert informed the outlet he had identified nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.

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