Russia Reports Effective Test of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

Russia has tested the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the country's top military official.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the commander told the head of state in a public appearance.

The low-flying prototype missile, first announced in 2018, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capacity to avoid defensive systems.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president stated that a "final successful test" of the missile had been carried out in the previous year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, just two instances had partial success since 2016, based on an arms control campaign group.

The military leader said the projectile was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be up to specification, according to a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it demonstrated advanced abilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet stated the general as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of heated controversy in military and defence circles since it was first announced in 2018.

A 2021 report by a foreign defence research body determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization noted the same year, Russia confronts major obstacles in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the state's stockpile arguably hinges not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.

"There occurred multiple unsuccessful trials, and an incident leading to multiple fatalities."

A military journal cited in the analysis states the weapon has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the missile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be equipped to strike goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also notes the projectile can fly as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the earth, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The missile, code-named Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be propelled by a atomic power source, which is supposed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the atmosphere.

An examination by a reporting service last year located a site 295 miles from the city as the likely launch site of the armament.

Employing orbital photographs from last summer, an analyst told the agency he had observed several deployment sites being built at the facility.

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