Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia has successfully conducted a test of the Poseidon nuclear-powered autonomous torpedo, describing the trial as a “major achievement” for the country’s defence program.
Speaking at a hospital in Moscow while meeting with soldiers wounded in the war in Ukraine, Putin said the test was carried out on Tuesday and involved the launch of the torpedo from a carrier submarine, followed by the activation of its nuclear propulsion system.
“For the first time, we not only launched it from a carrier submarine but also activated the nuclear power unit, which operated for a significant duration,” Putin said. “There is nothing comparable to this in the world. It is a huge success.”
The Poseidon is believed to be an autonomous underwater nuclear-capable weapon capable of generating large radioactive ocean waves that could devastate coastal areas. Few technical details are publicly available, but analysts have described it as one of the most advanced and potentially destabilizing weapons in Russia’s arsenal.
Putin said the Poseidon’s destructive capacity “significantly exceeds” that of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (SS-X-29, known as Satan II), highlighting its strategic importance.
The announcement comes just days after Russia conducted nuclear launch drills and tested the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile that Moscow claims can evade any missile defence system.
Since unveiling the Poseidon and Burevestnik projects in 2018, Putin has portrayed them as strategic responses to U.S. missile defence initiatives and the expansion of NATO, particularly after Washington’s withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2001.
