Moscow Announces Accomplished Trial of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Weapon

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, according to the country's top military official.

"We have executed a extended flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a vast distance, which is not the maximum," Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The terrain-hugging prototype missile, initially revealed in the past decade, has been described as having a possible global reach and the capability to evade anti-missile technology.

International analysts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.

The head of state said that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been carried out in 2023, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, only two had partial success since several years ago, as per an arms control campaign group.

The general said the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the test on 21 October.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were found to be meeting requirements, based on a local reporting service.

"Therefore, it exhibited high capabilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency quoted the official as saying.

The projectile's application has been the topic of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was first announced in the past decade.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a singular system with worldwide reach potential."

Yet, as a global defence think tank commented the corresponding time, Russia encounters considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.

"Its entry into the state's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of ensuring the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts stated.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and an incident leading to multiple fatalities."

A military journal quoted in the report claims the weapon has a operational radius of between a substantial span, enabling "the projectile to be based throughout the nation and still be able to target goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also explains the projectile can fly as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, rendering it challenging for air defences to intercept.

The projectile, designated Skyfall by a Western alliance, is considered powered by a nuclear reactor, which is supposed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the air.

An examination by a news agency last year identified a facility 475km north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the armament.

Employing orbital photographs from the recent past, an expert reported to the outlet he had detected nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.

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