Moscow Announces Accomplished Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Weapon

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the country's senior general.

"We have conducted a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the general told the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying advanced armament, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a possible global reach and the ability to avoid anti-missile technology.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.

The head of state declared that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been carried out in the previous year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had partial success since several years ago, according to an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov said the weapon was in the sky for a significant duration during the trial on the specified date.

He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were assessed and were confirmed as complying with standards, as per a local reporting service.

"As a result, it displayed advanced abilities to circumvent missile and air defence systems," the news agency quoted the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in 2018.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a unique weapon with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as a global defence think tank noted the identical period, Russia faces considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the country's arsenal potentially relies not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap leading to a number of casualties."

A military journal quoted in the analysis asserts the weapon has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the missile to be based throughout the nation and still be capable to strike targets in the United States mainland."

The same journal also says the missile can fly as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the surface, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to engage.

The projectile, referred to as Skyfall by a Western alliance, is considered driven by a reactor system, which is designed to activate after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the sky.

An examination by a media outlet recently located a location 295 miles north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the weapon.

Using orbital photographs from last summer, an expert told the service he had observed several deployment sites under construction at the facility.

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