![]() ![]() ![]() However, the source gives a length estimate of 69-79 meters and a beam estimate of seven meters. Apart from those roles, it can also perform seafloor studies, submarine rescue and special operations.Īs the Losharik is a highly-classified project, there are few details about its specific dimensions. It is designed to lay depth charges at inaccessible locations, conduct surveillance, destroy submarine cables or tap into them. It can dive down to 6,000 meters and is reportedly the Russian Navy’s most silent and hardest-to-detect submarine. Losharik is an unarmed saboteur submarine, according to. It can reportedly travel for weeks in low-speed mode to reach its target area before activating its high-speed mode in the last 2-3 kilometers to its target. Picture: Russia Defense Ministry / The Barents Observer via The Moscow Times It has a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour (kph), a 10,000-kilometer range, and a maximum depth of 1,000 meters – although the drone may operate at 50-100 meters in a low-speed mode for increased stealth. The same source states that Poseidon appears to be a robotic submarine 1.6-2 meters in diameter and 24 meters long. ![]() The nuclear-armed variant is armed with a low-yield 2-megaton cobalt warhead that can contaminate a 1,700 by 300-kilometer area, making it a weapon of last resort. ![]() Some units may attack coastal targets, while others may be designed as super-cavitating torpedoes to attack carrier battle groups. The Barents Observer report suggests two possible locations: Severodvinsk, where the Poseidon drone’s development is headed, or Olenya Bay at the Kola Peninsula, where Russia’s other special-purpose submarines are based.Īccording to the US ODIN military training database, Poseidon is a family of underwater drones rather than a single type. However, there is no mention of where Belgorod will be based during its experimental operation with the Northern Fleet. The Barents Observer reports that the Belgorod will be in experimental operation with Russia’s Northern Fleet before being handed over to the Pacific Fleet. In any of these possibilities, he notes that the conflicting narratives have at least likely confused US defense planners. He also notes that Poseidon may indeed be a doomsday weapon or that it wants to influence the world with such a narrative to prevent an attack against Russia in the first place. Skomorokhov notes that while there is logic in building a terrifying weapon like the Poseidon, the truth of the weapon’s existence and capabilities are very difficult to verify. Third, the US may perceive Poseidon as a real weapon and initiate research efforts to develop defenses to counter nuclear-armed underwater drones.įor now, strategic ambiguity is probably the most significant advantage Poseidon may give Russia. Second, he notes that the US may perceive Poseidon as an underwater research apparatus, but not the nuclear-armed underwater drone Russia claims. He notes that for all the hype it has caused in US defense circles, it may just be a mock-up meant to intimidate the US public and defense planners. In an article in Boennoe Obozreniye, Roman Skomorokhov notes that the US may perceive Poseidon in three ways.įirst, the US may dismiss the Poseidon drone as propaganda. However, Poseidon may not be all that Russia touts. Naval News reports that the Belgorod is the first carrier of the Poseidon nuclear-armed underwater drone, which can deliver a retaliatory nuclear second strike at population centers, major cities and industrial centers near the coast by triggering devastating radioactive tsunamis.Īpart from being used as a second-strike weapon, he notes that Poseidon can be deployed against carrier battle groups, with the Belgorod carrying them to the launch site. Moreover, it can serve carriers for deep-sea rescue vehicles and autonomous underwater unmanned vehicles. Naval News also notes that Belgorod’s displacement most likely exceeds the 19,000 tons of the original Oscar-II class and is bigger than the largest Western submarine, the US Ohio-class.Īccording to Sevmash, the Belgorod is designed to tackle scientific problems and conduct search and rescue operations. On July 8, the Russian Navy took delivery of the K-329 Belgorod, the world’s longest nuclear-powered submarine, the Russian submarine builder Sevmash said in a press statement.Īlthough exact specifications of the Belgorod have not been publicly released, Naval News reports that the Belgorod’s enlarged Oscar II-class hull is estimated to be 178 meters long and 15 meters across, making the sole Typhoon-class submarine the only larger vessel. ![]()
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