Russia's "Torpedo of the Apocalypse" — the Poseidon nuclear underwater vehicle — is changing the perception of nuclear threat, as it represents a new category of strategic weapons, the Norwegian publication Resett wrote.
Russia plans to use the nuclear drone at large depths, where the vehicle will be able to develop sufficiently high speed, the publication said.
The new torpedo will be transported and deployed on board mother submarines, such as the Belgorod and the Khabarovsk. According to Resett, Russia is to build four submarines for the new torpedo.
In August, US publication USNI News wrote that on the space image by Maxar Technologies demonstrating the Akademik Aleksandrov oceanographic research vessel in Severodvinsk (Arkhangelsk region), one could see an object reminiscent to the Poseidon nuclear underwater drone.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the development of the strategic Poseidon underwater vehicle capable of carrying nuclear warheads during his address to the Federal Assembly in March 2018. Putin noted that the underwater vehicle would be outfitted with an innovative nuclear power plant and would be categorised as a weapon of mass destruction capable of destroying targets both on the water surface and on the ground.