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Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia successfully tested its Poseidon nuclear-powered autonomous torpedo, calling the trial a “huge success” and hailing the weapon’s unmatched power. Vladimir Putin made the announcement while speaking with Russian soldiers wounded in the war in Ukraine during a hospital visit in Moscow. He said the test took place on Tuesday and marked a major technical breakthrough. “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 on which this device passed a certain amount of time. There is nothing like this,” Vladimir Putin said. He added that the Poseidon’s power “significantly exceeds” that of Russia’s most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat, known in NATO terminology as SS-X-29 or Satan II. “This is a huge success. The Poseidon’s power significantly exceeds the power of even our most promising Sarmat intercontinental range missile,” he said. The test comes just days after Russia announced it had also successfully tested the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable cruise missile that Moscow claims can evade any missile defence system. Since first unveiling the Poseidon and Burevestnik in 2018, Vladimir Putin has portrayed them as responses to the United States’ withdrawal in 2001 from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and to NATO’s continued expansion. What Is Poseidon? The Poseidon- also known by its development name Status-6 and NATO designation Kanyon- is a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable unmanned underwater vehicle. Essentially an autonomous underwater drone or “super-torpedo,” it is designed to travel long distances at great depth, beyond the reach of most missile defence systems. Russian state media and analysts say Poseidon could be armed with a massive nuclear warhead capable of generating radioactive tsunamis that render coastal areas uninhabitable. It is launched from specialised submarines such as the K-329 Belgorod and is powered by a miniature nuclear reactor, allowing it virtually unlimited range. Military experts view Poseidon as part of Russia’s evolving nuclear deterrent strategy- a weapon designed to ensure a devastating retaliatory capability even if conventional missile systems are neutralised.
