MOSCOW — Russia has successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, a nuclear-capable weapon Moscow says can evade any defense system, and will move toward deploying the weapon, President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.

Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, told Putin that the missile traveled 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) and was in the air for about 15 hours when it was tested on October 21.

Russia says the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel) — dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO — is “invincible” to current and future missile defenses, with an almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path.

It is ground-launched, low-flying cruise missile that is not only capable of carrying a nuclear warhead but is also nuclear-powered.

Its nuclear propulsion is designed to enable it to fly much further, for longer, than traditional turbojet or turbofan engines that are limited by how much fuel they can carry. This would allow it to “loiter” for an extended period before hitting a target.

“It is a unique ware which nobody else in the world has,” Putin, dressed in camouflage fatigues at a command point meeting with generals overseeing the war in........

© The Times of Israel