Moscow Announces Effective Evaluation of Atomic-Propelled Storm Petrel Missile
The nation has evaluated the nuclear-powered Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the country's senior general.
"We have launched a prolonged flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the general reported to the Russian leader in a public appearance.
The low-altitude prototype missile, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capacity to bypass defensive systems.
Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the missile's strategic value and the nation's statements of having successfully tested it.
The national leader declared that a "final successful test" of the weapon had been held in last year, but the statement lacked outside validation. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, just two instances had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an disarmament advocacy body.
The military leader reported the weapon was in the air for fifteen hours during the trial on October 21.
He noted the projectile's ascent and directional control were evaluated and were determined to be meeting requirements, according to a domestic media outlet.
"As a result, it exhibited high capabilities to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the news agency stated the commander as saying.
The missile's utility has been the topic of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was originally disclosed in recent years.
A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body determined: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would provide the nation a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."
However, as a global defence think tank noted the corresponding time, Russia confronts significant challenges in developing a functional system.
"Its induction into the country's arsenal arguably hinges not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists wrote.
"There occurred numerous flight-test failures, and an accident causing multiple fatalities."
A armed forces periodical referenced in the analysis asserts the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, permitting "the projectile to be deployed throughout the nation and still be capable to strike goals in the American territory."
The corresponding source also explains the projectile can travel as at minimal altitude as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, causing complexity for defensive networks to stop.
The weapon, designated Skyfall by an international defence pact, is thought to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the air.
An inquiry by a reporting service last year identified a site 475km from the city as the likely launch site of the missile.
Utilizing space-based photos from last summer, an expert told the outlet he had identified several deployment sites in development at the site.
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