Russia Announces Accomplished Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the state's top military official.
"We have executed a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the general informed President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to bypass missile defences.
Foreign specialists have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.
The national leader said that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been carried out in last year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had partial success since 2016, as per an arms control campaign group.
Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the test on October 21.
He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were confirmed as up to specification, based on a local reporting service.
"Consequently, it demonstrated advanced abilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the media source stated the commander as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in recent years.
A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a distinctive armament with worldwide reach potential."
However, as a global defence think tank noted the same year, the nation encounters significant challenges in achieving operational status.
"Its induction into the state's arsenal arguably hinges not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the dependable functioning of the nuclear-propulsion unit," experts wrote.
"There were numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap leading to a number of casualties."
A armed forces periodical referenced in the report claims the projectile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be equipped to reach objectives in the American territory."
The same journal also explains the missile can fly as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to intercept.
The projectile, code-named an operational name by an international defence pact, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have propelled it into the air.
An investigation by a media outlet last year pinpointed a location 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the armament.
Utilizing satellite imagery from August 2024, an specialist told the outlet he had identified multiple firing positions in development at the location.
Associated Updates
- President Authorizes Modifications to Atomic Policy
