Russia Announces Successful Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon
Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's leading commander.
"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the general informed President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.
The low-altitude advanced armament, first announced in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to bypass defensive systems.
Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.
The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been held in the previous year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had moderate achievement since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.
Gen Gerasimov reported the projectile was in the air for fifteen hours during the trial on October 21.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were found to be meeting requirements, based on a local reporting service.
"Therefore, it displayed superior performance to bypass missile and air defence systems," the news agency reported the general as saying.
The missile's utility has been the focus of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in the past decade.
A previous study by a American military analysis unit determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."
Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, Moscow confronts significant challenges in making the weapon viable.
"Its integration into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts wrote.
"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident resulting in several deaths."
A military journal quoted in the report claims the projectile has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the weapon to be based across the country and still be equipped to reach targets in the United States mainland."
The corresponding source also says the projectile can operate as low as a very low elevation above the surface, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to stop.
The weapon, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is believed to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the atmosphere.
An inquiry by a media outlet the previous year identified a facility a considerable distance above the capital as the possible firing point of the missile.
Utilizing orbital photographs from last summer, an specialist informed the outlet he had identified several deployment sites being built at the facility.
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