Moscow Confirms Successful Test of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the nation's leading commander.

"We have launched a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the general informed the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-altitude prototype missile, originally disclosed in recent years, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capacity to avoid defensive systems.

International analysts have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having accomplished its evaluation.

The president stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been conducted in the previous year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had partial success since several years ago, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

The military leader said the weapon was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the test on October 21.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were found to be up to specification, as per a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it displayed advanced abilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet quoted the commander as saying.

The missile's utility has been the subject of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

A previous study by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would provide the nation a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the identical period, Moscow faces significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the state's arsenal potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists noted.

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

A defence publication quoted in the study asserts the projectile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be deployed across the country and still be capable to reach objectives in the American territory."

The corresponding source also says the missile can travel as low as 164 to 328 feet above the earth, rendering it challenging for aerial protection systems to intercept.

The missile, designated Skyfall by an international defence pact, is thought to be driven by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the sky.

An inquiry by a news agency recently pinpointed a site a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an expert informed the agency he had identified nine horizontal launch pads in development at the location.

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