Russia Reports Successful Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Missile

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the country's senior general.

"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov reported to the head of state in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude prototype missile, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to avoid missile defences.

Western experts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having successfully tested it.

The head of state said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in last year, but the statement could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had limited accomplishment since several years ago, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov reported the projectile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the test on 21 October.

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be meeting requirements, as per a local reporting service.

"Consequently, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet reported the official as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in recent years.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a singular system with global strike capacity."

However, as a foreign policy research organization observed the identical period, the nation confronts significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the nation's stockpile likely depends not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and a mishap causing multiple fatalities."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the study claims the projectile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, allowing "the weapon to be stationed across the country and still be able to strike targets in the American territory."

The identical publication also says the projectile can travel as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above ground, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to engage.

The missile, designated Skyfall by a Western alliance, is believed to be driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the atmosphere.

An examination by a reporting service the previous year located a location a considerable distance from the city as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Utilizing orbital photographs from the recent past, an expert told the agency he had detected multiple firing positions in development at the location.

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