Is the Poseidon nuclear super torpedo really an extremely powerful offensive weapon of Russia, or is it just another paper tiger from Russia?
The Poseidon nuclear super torpedo is a new generation strategic weapon that is being developed by Russia and will be in service in the near future, some sources claim that the torpedo is already in service, but due to highly confidential information, it is difficult to give an accurate view of it.
Poseidon has been touted by state media and Russian leaders as a veritable super weapon. The Russian press even emphasized that the torpedo could destroy the UK with a radioactive tsunami 150 m high.
Not much is known about Poseidon other than that it is 25m long, carries a high-powered nuclear warhead, and can travel autonomously at 56 knots with unlimited range and a maximum depth of 1,000 m.
In theory, this should make Poseidon nearly unstoppable when it’s targeting a coastal city. Even this weapon is said to be more dangerous than an intercontinental ballistic missile. Because it’s so hard to detect a torpedo and its travel depth makes it even worse its impossible to detect something which can travel at a depth of 1000 m.
The Poseidon nuclear torpedo (Status-6 unmanned nuclear submarine) was designed to operate in tandem with the K-329 Belgorod super-large submarine – a deeply modernized version of the Soviet Oscar-II.
Poseidon was flaunted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 as an “invincible” nuclear strike system, along with new weapons such as Kinzhal, Avangard, and Sarmat that would make for a great deterrent.
The aforementioned weapons systems have been grouped by President Putin and other Russian leaders as means capable of penetrating even the most advanced enemy defenses.
Russia first hinted at Poseidon’s existence when it intentionally “leaked” a page with its schematics and specifications on state television channel NTV. The weapon was confirmed by the Pentagon in 2016, and since then Poseidon has been periodically tested.
Admiral John Aquilino, Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, stated that Russia is likely to deploy Poseidon alongside the Belgorod submarine by 2022, which coincides with the timeline given by Moscow earlier.
Admiral Aquilino’s statement said that Russia would enter service with Poseidon in the near future, but previous US intelligence suggested that the nuclear torpedo would not be deployed until 2027.
While the Russian media promotes Poseidon as the superweapon of a leading nuclear power, it seems that the Russian defense industry still does not know whether it can complete this ambitious project on time.
For a long time, many of the country’s conventional weapons, after a grand launch, have been continuously delayed, even though they have never been mass-produced example Su-57 fifth generation fighter aircraft and T-15 4th generation tank.
These are typical cases such as stealth fighters Su-57 or main battle tanks T-14 Armata… they have a level of complexity that is considered far behind when placed next to Poseidon torpedoes.
Now, when facing heavy sanctions related to the economy and high-tech products, the possibility for Russia to perfect a “super weapon” like the Poseidon torpedo becomes even more difficult to say.
The above fact shows that Poseidon is very easy to become Russia’s next “spray bomb”, this weapon is difficult to escape the image of “paper tiger” when it only acts as a means of intimidation without the ability to fight