Russia’s new Poseidon torpedo can hit targets above 10,000 kilometers.
Recently, the Russian Severodvinsk Shipyard commissioned the world’s largest nuclear-powered submarine, the “Belgorod”. The submarine completed its sea trials and was inducted into the Russian Navy on July 8 at the Severodvinsk Shipyard, Russia’s largest shipyard. Although the Russian Navy lacks modern large surface ships, but it does not lack nuclear submarines!
The Russian Navy is currently equipped with more than 10 strategic nuclear submarines and more than 20 attack nuclear submarines. It is the second largest underwater nuclear force in the world after the nuclear submarine force of the US Navy. However, the “Belgorod” nuclear submarine that has just been inducted is very special. The Belgorod is also being called as “underwater nuclear-powered mothership”!
The “Belgorod” nuclear submarine has two main characteristics, the first is that it is very big! This nuclear submarine has the submerged displacement of 30,000 tons. At present, the largest submarine of the U.S. Navy is the “Columbia-class” strategic nuclear submarine which is currently under construction. The submarine has an underwater displacement of 21,000 tons, which is slightly larger than that of the “Ohio” class, while the largest nuclear submarine capable of combat is with the Russian Navy. The Russian Navy also has a “Typhoon-class” strategic nuclear submarine that is no longer on duty but has not yet been retired. The submarine’s underwater displacement is 46,000 tons. After being inducted into active service, the “Belgorod” nuclear submarine has became the world’s largest nuclear submarine with state-of-the-art combat capabilites.
The second feature of the “Belgorod” nuclear submarine is that it will become a dedicated carrying and launching vehicle for the deadly russian underwater nuclear weapon named as the “Poseidon”. Previously, this underwater nuclear weapon was called a nuclear torpedo. In fact, “Poseidon” has exceeded the capabilities of torpedoes in terms of performance characteristics. In 2015, Russia restarted the research and development of nuclear torpedoes and named it “Poseidon”. The “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo has the characteristics of long range, high power, high speed and high degree of automation. Let’s first look at its range, the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo has a nuclear power propulsion system, this power system can easily give the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo a maximum range of more than 10,000 kilometers. This range is comparable to an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The destructive power of the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo is very large. In addition to a nuclear propulsion system, the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo also has a thermonuclear warhead. This nuclear warhead can generate an explosive yield of 2 million tons of TNT. This combat method does not require direct hits at all, and the tsunami caused by the power of the explosion on the seabed is enough to destroy a large navy fleet (a carrier strike group) or destroying a coastal city. The speed of the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo can reach 100 knots, which is more than 5 times that of ordinary torpedoes. In addition, the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo is very intelligent, and the optimal navigation route can be automatically calculated after setting the target. Although it is called a nuclear torpedo, it is actually an “underwater intercontinental ballistic missile”.
Of course, with such a fast speed, such great power and huge range, the size of the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo is naturally not small. The weight of the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo reaches 100 tons, which is dozens of times that of ordinary heavyweight torpedoes. The diameter of this “nuclear torpedo” is more than 1.8 meters and the length is more than 24 meters. The torpedo or missile launch tube used by previous nuclear submarines is very small to carry the “Poseidon”. It is impossible to carry and launch the torpedo from previous generation nuclear submarines, so the Russian Navy developed the “Belgorod” nuclear submarine specially for carrying and launching this “nuclear torpedo”.
The prototype of the “Belgorod” nuclear submarine is taken from the “Oscar” II-class cruise missile nuclear submarine. The “Belgorod” nuclear submarine has increased its length to 184 meters. This nuclear submarine uses a specially designed propeller with noise controller. It is difficult to be detected by conventional anti-submarine methods. The “Belgorod” nuclear submarine can carry up to 6 “Poseidon” nuclear torpedoes. In addition, the nuclear submarine has a semi-buried dock in its abdomen, which can carry an attack nuclear submarine with a displacement of more than 2,000 tons. From this point of view, the “Belgorod” nuclear submarine is simply an “underwater carrier or a underwater mothership”.
Of course, the combination of the “Belgorod” nuclear submarine and the powerful “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo is not designed for conventional warfare. This is actually a brand-new strategic strike equipment. Previously, the sea-based nuclear forces were mainly strategic nuclear submarines to carry and launch submarine launched intercontinental ballistic missiles, but the ballistic missiles may be intercepted by the anti-missile defence systems, while the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo sails underwater, with fast speed and long range. It also has a deep diving depth, the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo will not be intercepted by the anti-submarine system once it is launched, and in terms of the speed and diving depth of the “Poseidon” nuclear torpedo, even if it is discovered, there is nothing that can be done to stop it. It can be easily said that after the induction of the “Poseidon”nuclear torpedo with the Russian Navy, it will greatly enhance the overall strategic nuclear strike strength of the Russian Navy.