Moscow Announces Accomplished Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the state's senior general.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the general told President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The terrain-hugging experimental weapon, first announced in 2018, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The national leader declared that a "final successful test" of the missile had been held in 2023, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, based on an disarmament advocacy body.

The military leader said the weapon was in the sky for a significant duration during the evaluation on October 21.

He noted the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were determined to be meeting requirements, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to circumvent defensive networks," the news agency stated the general as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A previous study by a American military analysis unit determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a foreign policy research organization noted the corresponding time, Moscow confronts major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the country's arsenal likely depends not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists stated.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and an accident leading to several deaths."

A military journal quoted in the analysis claims the weapon has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the missile to be based throughout the nation and still be able to reach targets in the American territory."

The same journal also notes the weapon can fly as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, causing complexity for air defences to stop.

The missile, code-named Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is believed to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the air.

An examination by a reporting service the previous year identified a location a considerable distance from the city as the probable deployment area of the weapon.

Employing space-based photos from August 2024, an specialist reported to the outlet he had identified multiple firing positions under construction at the location.

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