Moscow Announces Effective Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, as reported by the state's leading commander.

"We have launched a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader the commander reported to President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The low-flying advanced armament, first announced in recent years, has been hailed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the ability to evade missile defences.

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

The president said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been held in last year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had limited accomplishment since several years ago, as per an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov stated the weapon was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the test on October 21.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be complying with standards, according to a national news agency.

"Consequently, it demonstrated advanced abilities to bypass defensive networks," the outlet reported the general as saying.

The missile's utility has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities 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 unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

Yet, as an international strategic institute commented the identical period, Moscow confronts significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the nation's inventory potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts wrote.

"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap resulting in a number of casualties."

A military journal cited in the report states the projectile has a range of between 10,000 and 20,000km, enabling "the projectile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to reach goals in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also explains the weapon can fly as low as 164 to 328 feet above the earth, making it difficult for defensive networks to engage.

The projectile, code-named Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be powered by a reactor system, which is intended to engage after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the air.

An inquiry by a media outlet recently pinpointed a facility 475km from the city as the probable deployment area of the missile.

Utilizing satellite imagery from the recent past, an expert told the agency he had identified nine horizontal launch pads under construction at the facility.

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