Russia has successfully tested a new nuclear-powered underwater drone known as Poseidon, President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday. Describing it as a new weapon «that cannot be intercepted,» Putin said the drone has already been dubbed a «doomsday machine.»
During his visit to a Moscow hospital where he met with soldiers wounded in Russia’s war against Ukraine, Putin said that the Poseidon drone was tested for the first time on Tuesday, powered by nuclear energy. He also described it as «unmatched in speed and depth.»
The Russian president said that the nuclear reactor powering Poseidon is «100 times smaller» than those in submarines, and that the power of its nuclear warhead is «significantly greater than that of our most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile, Sarmat.»
«For the first time, we managed not only to launch it with a launch engine from a carrier submarine, but also to launch the nuclear power unit in which this device spent some time,» Putin said. There was no independent confirmation that such a test took place.
What is Poseidon like?
Media outlets affiliated with the Kremlin claim that Poseidon is designed to travel at speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour. Known to NATO as Kanyon and previously labeled Status-6 by Moscow, the drone is 20 meters long, 1.8 meters in diameter, and weighs 100 tons, according to Russian media.
Moscow claims that nuclear power gives it unlimited range, and that the speed and depth of the drone make it difficult to locate. Putin said that Poseidon’s power exceeded that of «even the most promising intercontinental missile Sarmat,» the so-called SS-X-29, or Satan II.
Poseidon is one of six new weapons—dubbed «superweapons»—that the Russian president mentioned in his 2018 state of the nation address. Russian media reported that Poseidon was designed to explode near coastlines and unleash a powerful radioactive tsunami.
Nuclear arms race instead of diplomatic talks
Since announcing the six, including the Poseidon and Burevestnik in 2018, Putin has described the super-arsenal as a response to the US strategy of building a missile shield.
Last Sunday, Putin announced that Russia had tested its «unique» Burevestnik cruise missile, which is ready for nuclear war and which the Kremlin described as part of efforts to «ensure the country’s national security.»
Along with Russia’s nuclear drills last week, the Burevestnik test over the weekend, and now the Poseidon test just a few days later, this is seen as yet another message to Washington, following Putin’s comments last week that Moscow will not bow to US sanctions and pressure.
«(Putin) should end the war. A war that should have lasted a week is now entering its fourth year. That’s what he should do instead of testing missiles,» Trump said on Monday.
