Russia Reports Effective Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Missile

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, as reported by the state's top military official.

"We have launched a multi-hour flight of a nuclear-powered missile and it traversed a 14,000km distance, which is not the ultimate range," Top Army Official the commander told the head of state in a broadcast conference.

The low-flying prototype missile, originally disclosed in the past decade, has been hailed as having a possible global reach and the capability to bypass defensive systems.

International analysts have in the past questioned over the missile's strategic value and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The president stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the armament had been held in last year, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had moderate achievement since several years ago, according to an non-proliferation organization.

The military leader said the missile was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the trial on October 21.

He noted the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were determined to be meeting requirements, based on a domestic media outlet.

"As a result, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent defensive networks," the media source stated the official as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the focus of intense debate in defence and strategic sectors since it was initially revealed in the past decade.

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

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute noted the corresponding time, Moscow encounters considerable difficulties in achieving operational status.

"Its integration into the country's arsenal potentially relies not only on resolving the substantial engineering obstacle of guaranteeing the reliable performance of the nuclear-propulsion unit," analysts stated.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and an incident causing several deaths."

A military journal quoted in the report asserts the missile has a flight distance of between 10,000 and 20,000km, allowing "the projectile to be based anywhere in Russia and still be equipped to reach objectives in the United States mainland."

The same journal also notes the missile can travel as at minimal altitude as 164 to 328 feet above the surface, causing complexity for defensive networks to engage.

The projectile, code-named a specific moniker by a foreign security organization, is believed to be powered by a reactor system, which is supposed to commence operation after primary launch mechanisms have propelled it into the sky.

An inquiry by a reporting service the previous year identified a facility a considerable distance above the capital as the likely launch site of the weapon.

Using orbital photographs from August 2024, an analyst reported to the service he had observed nine horizontal launch pads being built at the site.

Related Developments

• Head of State Endorses Revisions to Nuclear Doctrine