Moscow Reports Accomplished Trial of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile
Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the country's top military official.
"We have executed a prolonged flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the commander reported to the Russian leader in a broadcast conference.
The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in recent years, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.
International analysts have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.
The head of state said that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been held in the previous year, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an disarmament advocacy body.
The general stated the weapon was in the air for 15 hours during the trial on 21 October.
He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were found to be meeting requirements, according to a national news agency.
"Therefore, it exhibited high capabilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet quoted the general as saying.
The missile's utility has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in the past decade.
A previous study by a foreign defence research body determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."
Yet, as a global defence think tank observed the same year, the nation encounters major obstacles in making the weapon viable.
"Its induction into the country's inventory arguably hinges not only on surmounting the significant development hurdle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the atomic power system," experts wrote.
"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and an accident resulting in several deaths."
A defence publication cited in the study asserts the weapon has a range of between a substantial span, permitting "the projectile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to strike targets in the continental US."
The identical publication also says the projectile can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to engage.
The missile, code-named an operational name by an international defence pact, is considered powered by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the atmosphere.
An examination by a news agency recently pinpointed a site 475km from the city as the likely launch site of the weapon.
Employing space-based photos from the recent past, an expert told the outlet he had observed nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.
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