Moscow Reports Accomplished Evaluation of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

The nation has evaluated the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's senior general.

"We have executed a extended flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the commander reported to the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying prototype missile, first announced in recent years, has been portrayed as having a potentially unlimited range and the capacity to evade anti-missile technology.

Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and Russian claims of having accomplished its evaluation.

The national leader stated that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been held in the previous year, but the assertion was not externally confirmed. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had partial success since the mid-2010s, according to an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov stated the missile was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were determined to be meeting requirements, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it demonstrated superior performance to evade missile and air defence systems," the outlet quoted the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was originally disclosed in 2018.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body concluded: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would provide the nation a singular system with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a global defence think tank noted the same year, the nation encounters considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its entry into the country's stockpile arguably hinges not only on overcoming the significant development hurdle of ensuring the dependable functioning of the nuclear-propulsion unit," specialists stated.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and a mishap resulting in a number of casualties."

A military journal referenced in the analysis asserts the projectile has a operational radius of between a substantial span, permitting "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be equipped to reach targets in the American territory."

The same journal also says the projectile can operate as low as 50 to 100 metres above the earth, causing complexity for air defences to engage.

The missile, referred to as an operational name by a Western alliance, is thought to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is intended to activate after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the sky.

An inquiry by a media outlet the previous year identified a site 475km from the city as the likely launch site of the armament.

Employing satellite imagery from August 2024, an analyst reported to the service he had identified several deployment sites under construction at the site.

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