Russia has successfully tested a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone, Poseidon, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
Putin oversaw a test of another advanced nuclear-capable weapon — the Burevestnik cruise missile, which he claimed had an “unlimited range”.
Trump called that exercise “not appropriate”. “Yesterday, another test was conducted for another prospective system — the unmanned underwater device ‘Poseidon,’ also equipped with a nuclear power unit,” Putin said in televised remarks while visiting a military hospital treating Russian soldiers wounded in Ukraine.
Putin said there was “no way to intercept” the drone torpedo, which, according to Putin, can travel at a speed higher than conventional submarines and reach any continent in the world.
Putin said no country could match Poseidon’s speed and diving depth, adding, “It is unlikely that anything similar will appear in the near future.”
The device can operate at depths of more than one kilometre (0.6 mile) and travel at speeds of up to 70 knots while remaining undetectable, according to a source in the Russian military-industrial complex quoted by the state news agency TASS.
First tested in 2018, it is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead of up to two megatons, the source told TASS.
After Sunday’s cruise missile test, Trump urged Putin to focus instead on ending the war in Ukraine.
“He ought to get the war (in Ukraine) ended. A war that should have taken one week is now soon in its fourth year. That’s what he ought to do instead of testing missiles,” Trump said.
Russia’s Poseidon Drone
Following the military operations in Ukraine, Russian commentators have consistently issued threats against the West, claiming that the Poseidon torpedoes can cause radioactive tsunamis reaching heights of up to 1,000 feet.
While military experts dismiss these claims, they acknowledge that the Poseidon torpedoes could potentially devastate the coastal cities of enemy nations.
Once released from the submarine, the Poseidon torpedo operates like a drone, allowing it to be remotely guided to its targets.
A retired Russian commander, Yevgeny Buzhinsky, recently advocated using the Poseidon against London, claiming that Britain would cease to exist if Moscow deployed it.
Vijainder K. Thakur, an Indian Air Force veteran and military expert, earlier told EurAsian Times, “Poseidon is a doomsday weapon. It is a post-apocalypse weapon. Most importantly, it is a nuclear weapon. As such, it can only be used as a deterrent. It has no combat value. It cannot be used in wars. It can only prevent wars.”
Similarly, Professor Andrew Futter, a University of Leicester academic and nuclear weapons expert, earlier told EurAsian Times, “Poseidon doesn’t change the strategic picture – it is just a different way of delivering nuclear weapons.”
He believes that Poseidon has the potential to be utilized for “several other non-nuclear functions and missions too.”
The purpose of developing the Poseidon torpedo was to cause severe damage to an enemy nation’s coastal infrastructure, render sizable portions of the country uninhabitable due to radioactive contamination, and prevent the conduct of military, economic, or other activities for a considerable amount of time.
Russia’s development of the Poseidon drone was partly motivated by its desire to showcase its ability to develop weapons that could evade the US defense systems.
By: ET Desk with AFP Inputs
