Moscow Reports Effective Trial of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the nation's senior general.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official the commander reported to President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to bypass anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The head of state said that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been held in last year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had partial success since the mid-2010s, based on an non-proliferation organization.

The general stated the missile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the evaluation on 21 October.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were found to be complying with standards, based on a national news agency.

"As a result, it demonstrated superior performance to circumvent defensive networks," the media source reported the general as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization observed the identical period, Moscow confronts considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the state's stockpile likely depends not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists noted.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap resulting in several deaths."

A armed forces periodical cited in the analysis asserts the missile has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the missile to be based throughout the nation and still be capable to reach targets in the continental US."

The same journal also notes the weapon can travel as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the earth, making it difficult for defensive networks to stop.

The projectile, code-named Skyfall by a Western alliance, is believed to be propelled by a reactor system, which is designed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the air.

An examination by a news agency last year identified a site 475km from the city as the possible firing point of the armament.

Employing orbital photographs from August 2024, an specialist told the outlet he had identified multiple firing positions being built at the location.

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