Russia Reports Successful Trial of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Weapon

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the state's leading commander.

"We have executed a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the commander told President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying advanced armament, initially revealed in recent years, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capacity to bypass missile defences.

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

The national leader stated that a "final successful test" of the armament had been conducted in the previous year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

The general said the weapon was in the sky for a significant duration during the evaluation on the specified date.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were determined to be complying with standards, as per a national news agency.

"As a result, it exhibited advanced abilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the news agency stated the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was first announced in the past decade.

A previous study by a American military analysis unit stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization noted the same year, Russia encounters significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its entry into the state's arsenal potentially relies not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists wrote.

"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident resulting in several deaths."

A defence publication referenced in the analysis asserts the projectile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the weapon to be based across the country and still be able to strike targets in the continental US."

The same journal also notes the missile can operate as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, rendering it challenging for defensive networks to engage.

The missile, designated Skyfall by a Western alliance, is thought to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the atmosphere.

An examination by a reporting service last year identified a facility 475km north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the armament.

Using orbital photographs from last summer, an expert reported to the service he had detected multiple firing positions being built at the facility.

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