As reported to the Russian media outlet TASS by a source in the domestic defense industry,
the Russian Navy plans to place more than 30 Poseidon strategic nuclear-capable
underwater drones on combat duty.
The source said to TASS, "Two Poseidon-carrying submarines
are expected to enter service with the Northern Fleet
and the other two will join the Pacific Fleet. Each of the submarines will carry a maximum of
eight drones and, therefore, the total number of Poseidons on combat duty may reach 32 vehicles"
As noted by TASS, the special-purpose nuclear-powered submarine Khabarovsk currently
being built at the Sevmash Shipyard will become one of the organic carriers of the Poseidon.
The source added that apartment from it, special-purpose submarines and Project 949A
Oscar II Class nuclear-powered submarines already operational in the Russian Navy
may be used as the carriers "after their appropriate upgrade"
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why the imminent deployment of the
Russian Poseidon underground drone is concerning news for the US & NATO?
Let's get started.
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The Poseidon NATO reporting name Kanyon, previously known by Russian codename Status-6,
is an autonomous, nuclear-powered, and nuclear-armed unmanned underwater vehicle under
development by Rubin Design Bureau, capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear payloads.
The drone got its name following the results of open voting on
the website of Russia’s Defense Ministry. The Poseidon is one of the six new Russian
strategic weapons announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 1 March 2018.
Poseidon together with its carrier - nuclear-powered submarines - make part
of Russia's so-called oceanic multipurpose system.
The torpedo-shaped robotic mini-submarine can travel at speeds of 100 knots (185 km/h).
It has a range of 6,200 miles or 10,000 km and can travel at a maximum depth of 3,280 feet or 1000 m.
This underwater drone is perceived to have stealth technology to avoid detection.
As per TASS, the Poseidon drone being developed in Russia would be capable of
carrying a nuclear warhead with a yield of up to 2 mega tonnes.
To give viewers a perspective here is a comparison.
Trinity Test in New Mexico in July 1945, which ushered in the nuclear age,
had a yield of 20-kilo tons. Hiroshima’s “Little Boy" bomb had
a yield of 13-18 kilotons whereas Nagasaki's "Fat Man" bomb had a yield of 20– 22-kilotons of TNT.
Poseidon has the potential for multiple strategic uses. These could be some of its missions.
1. Attacking rival's coasts. This weapon could create a tsunami wave
up to 500 m tall that will radioactively contaminated large parts of an enemy's coastline.
Poseidon could be armed with a cobalt bomb. A cobalt bomb is a type of “salted bomb":
a nuclear weapon designed to produce enhanced amounts of radioactive fallout, intended to
contaminate a large area with radioactive material. Upon detonation, cobalt-59 would be
transmuted into cobalt-60, a highly radioactive particle with a half-life of more than 5 years.
It will cause massive devastation, rendering large areas unusable for years. No country
in the world has yet tested a cobalt bomb due to the devastating radiation it would unleash.
2. Destroying naval bases. Being much smaller than a traditional submarine,
the Poseidon could sneak very close to the enemy's naval bases and detonate itself
causing tremendous damage to the enemy's naval assets like warships or submarine fleet.
3. Annihilating U.S. aircraft carriers. Russia’s main rival, the U.S has about 10 supercarriers in
active service. These have been used to project power much beyond the American homeland.
Russia's only carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is not operational currently. In this situation,
Russia needs asymmetric ways to deal with American supercarriers.
Poseidon could be assigned to neutralize U.S carriers.
Russian could quietly position a few of these in strategic points in the oceans
then remotely activate when in striking distance of a U.S carrier group.
4. Eliminating the U.S. SSBN fleet. The U.S currently has an Ohio SSBN fleet of
14 vessels. This is scheduled to decline to 12 Columbia SSBNs in the future.
On any given day, half of the U.S. SSBN is in port, and the other half patrolling at sea.
So, the most credibly survivable leg of the entire U.S. nuclear Triad is only about 6-7 submarines.
Poseidon could be used to tail these submarines and attack them on command. Even a robust
submarine of the Ohio class may not survive a 2 megaton warhead even when denoted pretty far off.
The U.S and NATO members are developing multiple anti-missile defense systems.
The U.S missile defense systems like Ground-Based Midcourse Defense,
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
(THAAD) are designed to take out traditional missiles.
Though Russia is developing offensive systems capable of penetrating the US air defense shield,
Poseidon would be an alternative mechanism. If it works as described, Poseidon would be
able to bypass these missile defense systems altogether
as it will travel underwater and Russia's nuclear deterrence will stay intact.
It is evident that the US and NATO will now have to deal with this new Russian weapon
which currently has no counter.