Russia Reports Successful Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon

The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the country's senior general.

"We have launched a prolonged flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the general told the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying prototype missile, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The president declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been carried out in last year, but the claim was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had moderate achievement since several years ago, as per an arms control campaign group.

The general reported the projectile was in the sky for fifteen hours during the evaluation on 21 October.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were determined to be up to specification, as per a national news agency.

"Therefore, it displayed superior performance to evade defensive networks," the outlet reported the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in 2018.

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

However, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Moscow encounters considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the state's stockpile likely depends not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the atomic power system," analysts noted.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident resulting in a number of casualties."

A military journal referenced in the report claims the weapon has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be based across the country and still be capable to target targets in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also notes the weapon can operate as low as 50 to 100 metres above ground, making it difficult for air defences to stop.

The weapon, referred to as an operational name by an international defence pact, is thought to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the sky.

An inquiry by a news agency recently identified a facility 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Utilizing space-based photos from last summer, an expert told the service he had detected several deployment sites being built at the site.

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