Moscow Confirms Accomplished Test of Nuclear-Powered Storm Petrel Weapon

Russia has tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the country's top military official.

"We have launched a prolonged flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it covered a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the general told the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The terrain-hugging experimental weapon, originally disclosed in 2018, has been described as having a possible global reach and the ability to avoid defensive systems.

Foreign specialists have in the past questioned over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The president said that a "last accomplished trial" of the missile had been held in 2023, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had moderate achievement since the mid-2010s, as per an arms control campaign group.

The military leader stated the projectile was in the air for 15 hours during the evaluation on the specified date.

He said the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were confirmed as complying with standards, as per a national news agency.

"Consequently, it exhibited superior performance to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the outlet stated the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the subject of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."

However, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Moscow confronts considerable difficulties in making the weapon viable.

"Its entry into the nation's arsenal arguably hinges not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of ensuring the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts wrote.

"There have been multiple unsuccessful trials, and an accident causing several deaths."

A defence publication cited in the analysis claims the weapon has a operational radius of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the projectile to be stationed across the country and still be able to strike goals in the continental US."

The corresponding source also says the missile can operate as low as a very low elevation above the surface, causing complexity for air defences to stop.

The projectile, referred to as a specific moniker by an international defence pact, is believed to be driven by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have propelled it into the air.

An examination by a reporting service the previous year pinpointed a location a considerable distance north of Moscow as the possible firing point of the weapon.

Using satellite imagery from the recent past, an analyst reported to the service he had identified nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.

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