Russia Reports Effective Trial of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Cruise Missile

Moscow has trialed the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, as reported by the state's top military official.

"We have executed a multi-hour flight of a atomic-propelled weapon and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the limit," Top Army Official Valery Gerasimov told the Russian leader in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude prototype missile, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a possible global reach 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 successfully tested it.

The head of state said that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been carried out in the previous year, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, merely a pair had partial success since the mid-2010s, as per an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov said the weapon was in the sky for fifteen hours during the test on October 21.

He said the projectile's ascent and directional control were assessed and were determined to be up to specification, as per a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it demonstrated high capabilities to evade defensive networks," the news agency quoted the official as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in the past decade.

A recent analysis by a foreign defence research body stated: "A nuclear-powered cruise missile would give Russia a unique weapon with worldwide reach potential."

However, as a foreign policy research organization commented the same year, Moscow encounters significant challenges in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the country's inventory likely depends not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the consistent operation of the atomic power system," specialists wrote.

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

A armed forces periodical quoted in the report asserts the weapon has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the weapon to be stationed across the country and still be equipped to target targets in the United States mainland."

The same journal also says the projectile can fly as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above ground, making it difficult for air defences to intercept.

The projectile, referred to as Skyfall by a Western alliance, is considered powered by a atomic power source, which is intended to engage after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the sky.

An inquiry by a media outlet recently located a facility 295 miles north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the armament.

Employing orbital photographs from last summer, an analyst told the outlet he had observed several deployment sites being built at the site.

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