Russia Reports Accomplished Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Weapon

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the state's senior general.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the maximum," Senior Military Leader the general informed the head of state in a televised meeting.

The terrain-hugging prototype missile, initially revealed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to evade anti-missile technology.

Western experts have previously cast doubt over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having successfully tested it.

The president stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the weapon had been carried out in the previous year, but the statement was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had moderate achievement since 2016, as per an arms control campaign group.

The military leader reported the projectile was in the sky for 15 hours during the trial on October 21.

He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were found to be up to specification, based on a national news agency.

"As a result, it displayed advanced abilities to evade anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency quoted the general as saying.

The missile's utility has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body stated: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a unique weapon with global strike capacity."

Nonetheless, as a foreign policy research organization noted the same year, Russia encounters considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the state's stockpile potentially relies not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap causing several deaths."

A defence publication quoted in the report claims the missile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, permitting "the weapon to be stationed throughout the nation and still be able to strike goals in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the missile can operate as low as 164 to 328 feet above ground, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to stop.

The weapon, code-named an operational name by an international defence pact, is believed to be driven by a reactor system, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have sent it into the atmosphere.

An investigation by a media outlet recently pinpointed a facility a considerable distance from the city as the possible firing point of the armament.

Utilizing space-based photos from August 2024, an expert informed the service he had observed nine horizontal launch pads being built at the location.

Connected News

• National Leader Approves Modifications to Atomic Policy