Russia has successfully fired the Poseidon nuclear-powered uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) from one of its submarines, it has been claimed.
The Kremlin on Wednesday published a transcript of comments attributed to Russian premier Vladimir Putin while visiting wounded soldiers at the Mandryka Central Military Clinical Hospital in Moscow.
They read: “Yesterday we conducted another test of another promising system — the Poseidon unmanned underwater vehicle, also with a nuclear propulsion system.
“For the first time, we succeeded not only in launching it from a submarine using its booster motor, but also in igniting the nuclear propulsion system, which powered the vehicle for a certain period of time.”
He also reportedly added: “This one is a hundred times smaller than a submarine’s nuclear reactor. But the Poseidon’s power significantly exceeds that of even our most advanced intercontinental missile, the Sarmat.”
According to analyst HI Sutton of the Covert Shores website, who spoke about Poseidon at Navy Leaders’ CNE conference in May this year, the Poseidon is thought to be an intercontinental nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed autonomous torpedo.
He described it as both “not well understood” and “difficult to counter.” Its warhead has an estimated two-megaton yield and it’s not known whether it is intended as a tactical weapon aimed at military assets, or a strategic one intended for use against civilian targets.
At least two Russian submarines are thought to be capable of launching the Poseidon; one of these is the Belgorod, thought to be the world’s largest submarine. Belgorod is a modified SSGN also potentially adapted to carry the Losharik midget sub and deploy other AUVs.
The other submarine believed capable of launching the Poseidon is the Sarov, a special purpose diesel-electric sub which uses a nuclear reactor as a supplementary generator.
The Poseidon claims follow a week after Russia claimed to have test-fired a nuclear-powered missile, Burevestnik, also referenced in the comments attributed to Putin.
- You can read the full transcript of the remarks on the Kremlin website