Russia Announces Accomplished Test of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the state's top military official.

"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov informed the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-altitude experimental weapon, originally disclosed in recent years, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to avoid missile defences.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.

The president stated that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been conducted in last year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an arms control campaign group.

The military leader said the missile was in the sky for a significant duration during the test on October 21.

He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a local reporting service.

"As a result, it displayed high capabilities to circumvent defensive networks," the outlet reported the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A previous study by a American military analysis unit determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization observed the same year, the nation faces major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the nation's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of ensuring the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts noted.

"There were numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap resulting in multiple fatalities."

A armed forces periodical cited in the report asserts the weapon has a flight distance of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the missile to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be able to reach objectives in the American territory."

The same journal also notes the projectile can travel as close to the ground as a very low elevation above ground, making it difficult for defensive networks to engage.

The missile, code-named Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is considered powered by a atomic power source, which is supposed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the sky.

An investigation by a media outlet recently located a facility 475km north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the armament.

Using space-based photos from last summer, an analyst told the agency he had detected multiple firing positions being built at the facility.

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