Norway’s military intelligence service announced today that Russia’s test of the new long-range nuclear-powered missile Burevestnik (“Storm Petrel”) last week was conducted from the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Barents Sea.
“We can confirm that Russia conducted a test launch of the long-range cruise missile Skyfall (Burevestnik) from Novaya Zemlya,” said Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensoenes, head of Norway’s Intelligence Service, in a statement sent via email to Reuters.
According to the briefing by the Chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, to President Vladimir Putin, the missile traveled a distance of 14,000 kilometers and remained in the air for approximately 15 hours.
Putin has stated that the 9M730 Burevestnik missile is “invisible” to current and future missile defense systems, with nearly unlimited range and an unpredictable flight path.
The new nuclear-powered missile can carry a nuclear warhead.
In statements yesterday, Putin, dressed in camouflage uniform, told Gerasimov that the critical tests of the Burevestnik had been completed and that work would begin on the final stage before deployment of the missiles.
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