Russia Announces Successful Test of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile

Moscow has trialed the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the nation's senior general.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the commander told President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude advanced armament, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to bypass missile defences.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The president declared that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been conducted in the previous year, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, as per an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader stated the projectile was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were determined to be complying with standards, based on a local reporting service.

"As a result, it demonstrated superior performance to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency quoted the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank commented the identical period, Moscow faces major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its induction into the country's stockpile likely depends not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts wrote.

"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and an incident leading to a number of casualties."

A military journal cited in the study asserts the projectile has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the projectile to be based anywhere in Russia and still be able to strike targets in the United States mainland."

The identical publication also says the projectile can operate as close to the ground as a very low elevation above ground, rendering it challenging for air defences to engage.

The missile, referred to as a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is considered driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the air.

An inquiry by a news agency recently identified a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the weapon.

Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an expert reported to the agency he had identified nine horizontal launch pads in development at the location.

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