Russia Confirms Accomplished Trial of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Weapon
The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the nation's leading commander.
"We have conducted a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a vast distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov informed President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.
The low-altitude prototype missile, first announced in 2018, has been described as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to bypass defensive systems.
International analysts have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having accomplished its evaluation.
The president stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been held in last year, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, only two had limited accomplishment since the mid-2010s, based on an non-proliferation organization.
The general said the projectile was in the sky for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.
He explained the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be up to specification, according to a domestic media outlet.
"Consequently, it demonstrated advanced abilities to evade defensive networks," the outlet stated the commander as saying.
The missile's utility has been the topic of vigorous discussion in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in the past decade.
A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center concluded: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a singular system with intercontinental range capability."
Yet, as a global defence think tank commented the identical period, Moscow confronts considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.
"Its integration into the nation's inventory potentially relies not only on surmounting the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," experts noted.
"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap causing multiple fatalities."
A military journal quoted in the report asserts the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the projectile to be deployed anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to strike objectives in the American territory."
The corresponding source also says the projectile can fly as close to the ground as a very low elevation above the earth, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to engage.
The missile, referred to as Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is thought to be powered by a reactor system, which is supposed to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the atmosphere.
An inquiry by a media outlet last year located a facility a considerable distance above the capital as the probable deployment area of the weapon.
Using satellite imagery from last summer, an analyst told the outlet he had identified multiple firing positions under construction at the site.
Related Developments
- President Authorizes Amendments to Nuclear Doctrine
