President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that Russia successfully tested a new nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missile designed to evade existing defense systems, bringing it closer to deployment.
Putin, dressed in camouflage fatigues, could be seen meeting with senior Russian military figures, according to a video released by the Kremlin.
The footage showed Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of general staff, telling the Russian leader that the Burevestnik covered 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) in a key test Tuesday.
Gerasimov said the Burevestnik, or Storm Petrel in Russian, spent 15 hours in the air, adding "that’s not the limit."
"We need to determine the possible uses and begin preparing the infrastructure for deploying these weapons to our armed forces," Putin told Gerasimov in the video and instructed him to work on the missile’s final tests.
