Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia tested the nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle Poseidon on 28 October. He said this at a meeting with patients at the Mandrik Central Military Clinical Hospital.
According to him, it was the first time the device was able to start from a carrier submarine and launch its nuclear propulsion system, which it uses to power itself.
Putin called the test a “huge success,” saying the device would be impossible to intercept because of its small size, high speed and the depth it reaches.
He said the vehicle is more powerful than the Sarmat missile system. It is unclear what Putin meant, but if he was referring to the power of a nuclear warhead, the total charge of the Sarmat is estimated at 7.5 megatons.
Putin first revealed the project’s existence in March 2018 in his address to the Russian Federal Assembly. He said Russia had developed underwater drones capable of moving at great depths at speeds “multiple times faster than submarines, the most advanced torpedoes and all kinds of, even the fastest, surface ships.”
Last week, Russian Federation said it had tested a nuclear-powered cruise missile called the Burevestnik. According to the Russian General Staff, the missile allegedly “flew about 14,000 kilometres” during the test; the agency stressed that this was “not the limit of its capabilities”.