Russia Reports Accomplished Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Weapon

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the country's leading commander.

"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Chief of General Staff the general reported to the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-flying prototype missile, initially revealed in recent years, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the capacity to evade defensive systems.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been conducted in the previous year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had limited accomplishment since 2016, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov stated the missile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the evaluation on October 21.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were determined to be meeting requirements, based on a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to bypass defensive networks," the media source quoted the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in recent years.

A recent analysis by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a singular system with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a global defence think tank noted the same year, Russia confronts considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the state's inventory potentially relies not only on resolving the significant development hurdle of securing the reliable performance of the atomic power system," experts noted.

"There were multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident leading to a number of casualties."

A armed forces periodical referenced in the report states the missile has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the missile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to reach targets in the continental US."

The corresponding source also says the projectile can operate as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the earth, causing complexity for air defences to intercept.

The missile, code-named Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is thought to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the air.

An inquiry by a reporting service last year pinpointed a location 295 miles above the capital as the probable deployment area of the armament.

Employing space-based photos from the recent past, an specialist told the agency he had detected nine horizontal launch pads under construction at the location.

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