Russia Confirms Effective Test of Reactor-Driven Storm Petrel Weapon

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik strategic weapon, according to the nation's top military official.

"We have conducted a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a vast distance, which is not the limit," Chief of General Staff the general reported to the head of state in a televised meeting.

The low-altitude prototype missile, initially revealed in 2018, has been described as having a potentially unlimited range and the capability to avoid missile defences.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the weapon's military utility and Moscow's assertions of having effectively trialed it.

The president declared that a "final successful test" of the missile had been held in 2023, but the assertion could not be independently verified. Of a minimum of thirteen documented trials, merely a pair had moderate achievement since 2016, based on an non-proliferation organization.

The general stated the missile was in the air for fifteen hours during the evaluation on 21 October.

He said the missile's vertical and horizontal manoeuvring were tested and were confirmed as meeting requirements, as per a national news agency.

"Therefore, it exhibited advanced abilities to bypass anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source reported the general as saying.

The weapon's usefulness has been the topic of intense debate in armed forces and security communities since it was first announced in recent years.

A 2021 report by a American military analysis unit stated: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would offer Moscow a distinctive armament with intercontinental range capability."

Nonetheless, as an international strategic institute observed the corresponding time, Russia faces considerable difficulties in developing a functional system.

"Its integration into the country's inventory arguably hinges not only on resolving the considerable technical challenge of guaranteeing the dependable functioning of the reactor drive mechanism," analysts noted.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and an accident leading to several deaths."

A defence publication quoted in the report asserts the projectile has a flight distance of between a substantial span, allowing "the weapon to be deployed throughout the nation and still be equipped to target goals in the United States mainland."

The same journal also explains the projectile can fly as at minimal altitude as a very low elevation above ground, causing complexity for air defences to intercept.

The projectile, code-named Skyfall by an international defence pact, is believed to be powered by a atomic power source, which is designed to commence operation after initial propulsion units have sent it into the atmosphere.

An examination by a media outlet last year located a facility 475km above the capital as the possible firing point of the missile.

Employing space-based photos from last summer, an specialist told the service he had identified multiple firing positions under construction at the site.

Related Developments

• President Authorizes Revisions to Strategic Guidelines