Russia Confirms Successful Test of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile

The nation has evaluated the atomic-propelled Burevestnik long-range missile, as stated by the state's leading commander.

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

The low-altitude experimental weapon, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a possible global reach and the ability to evade missile defences.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and the nation's statements of having effectively trialed it.

The national leader declared that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the weapon had been conducted in 2023, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, only two had moderate achievement since several years ago, based on an arms control campaign group.

The general said the projectile was in the atmosphere for a significant duration during the evaluation on October 21.

He explained the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were found to be up to specification, according to a local reporting service.

"Consequently, it displayed advanced abilities to evade defensive networks," the news agency reported the commander as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the subject of heated controversy in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in 2018.

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit determined: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a global defence think tank observed the same year, Moscow faces major obstacles in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the state's stockpile likely depends not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists wrote.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and a mishap leading to several deaths."

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

The corresponding source also explains the missile can fly as close to the ground as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for aerial protection systems to stop.

The missile, referred to as an operational name by a foreign security organization, is considered powered by a reactor system, which is designed to engage after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the sky.

An examination by a media outlet the previous year pinpointed a site 475km north of Moscow as the probable deployment area of the armament.

Utilizing satellite imagery from August 2024, an expert informed the outlet he had detected several deployment sites being built at the location.

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