Moscow Reports Effective Trial of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Missile
The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the country's senior general.
"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, first announced in the past decade, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to avoid anti-missile technology.
Western experts have in the past questioned over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.
The head of state said that a "final successful test" of the missile had been carried out in last year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had partial success since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.
Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the evaluation on 21 October.
He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were tested and were determined to be complying with standards, based on a local reporting service.
"Consequently, it exhibited high capabilities to evade missile and air defence systems," the media source quoted the general as saying.
The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of intense debate in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in the past decade.
A previous study by a American military analysis unit determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with worldwide reach potential."
However, as an international strategic institute commented the corresponding time, Moscow confronts significant challenges in achieving operational status.
"Its integration into the country's arsenal potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of ensuring the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists stated.
"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident causing a number of casualties."
A armed forces periodical cited in the report asserts the projectile has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the missile to be stationed across the country and still be equipped to reach targets in the American territory."
The same journal also notes the projectile can travel as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above the surface, rendering it challenging for air defences to engage.
The missile, designated a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is believed to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the air.
An examination by a news agency the previous year located a location 295 miles north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the weapon.
Employing orbital photographs from last summer, an expert informed the outlet he had identified nine horizontal launch pads under construction at the location.
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