Russia to conduct tests of Putin's 'doomsday weapon' in summer
TASS reported, citing a source in the military-industrial sector, that factory testing of Poseidon unmanned underwater vehicles, which will be adopted by the Russian Navy as part of the state armament program for 2018-2027, will begin this summer.
“Testing is planned in favorable conditions this summer,” the source said, specifying that the Poseidon missiles will be fired from a coastal launcher.”
The reason for this, is the regular carrier for Poseidon, a nuclear submarine, is still being completed at the plant Sevmash.
On February 2nd, President Vladimir Putin announced the end of the key testing phase of Poseidon. Earlier it was reported that the underwater drone is capable of hitting targets at a speed of 200 km per hour. At the same time, the torpedo can change depth and trajectory, making it invulnerable to the enemy.
For comparison, the maximum speed of modern atomic submarines is 60 km/h; torpedoes are 90/km/h. Sources also noted that Poseidon is capable of carrying a nuclear charge of up to two megatons and destroy enemy naval bases. In the Western press, this new Russian weapon has already been dubbed the “Doomsday weapon” for its “ability” to move towards the shore unnoticed and create a nuclear explosion.