Russia Reports Accomplished Trial of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Weapon

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, as stated by the state's leading commander.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official the general reported to President Vladimir Putin in a broadcast conference.

The terrain-hugging advanced armament, initially revealed in recent years, has been hailed as having a potentially unlimited range and the ability to evade anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The national leader said that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been carried out in last year, but the claim could not be independently verified. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, according to an non-proliferation organization.

The general reported the weapon was in the sky for fifteen hours during the trial on the specified date.

He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were tested and were confirmed as up to specification, according to a local reporting service.

"Consequently, it exhibited high capabilities to circumvent defensive networks," the news agency reported the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of vigorous discussion in armed forces and security communities since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

A previous study by a American military analysis unit stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

However, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Russia faces major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its entry into the country's inventory potentially relies not only on overcoming the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," experts wrote.

"There were several flawed evaluations, and a mishap causing a number of casualties."

A defence publication quoted in the report asserts the missile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be deployed across the country and still be capable to strike objectives in the continental US."

The corresponding source also explains the projectile can fly as low as a very low elevation above the surface, making it difficult for aerial protection systems to stop.

The projectile, designated a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is believed to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to activate after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the air.

An examination by a media outlet last year pinpointed a site 475km above the capital as the probable deployment area of the armament.

Employing space-based photos from August 2024, an analyst reported to the agency he had detected multiple firing positions being built at the site.

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