Putin’s new submarine, Khabarovsk, was launched from the Sevmash shipyard and is capable of carrying devastating Poseidon torpedoes, capable of leveling coastal cities.
Chilling new satellite images have captured the full scale of Russia’s new nuclear-powered submarine, capable of firing devastating nuclear torpedoes.
Moscow’s latest nuclear asset, the Khabarovsk-class submarine, has been seen in full size for the first time in the latest satellite images. The submarine, capable of launching atomic torpedoes, was photographed docked in the workshop of the Sevmash shipyard.
The shipyard is where the new Project 09851 submarines, the Khabarovsk-class submarines under construction for the Russian Navy, will be assembled. The nuclear submarine measures between 135 and 140 meters long and about 13.5 m wide, and is capable of firing the new Russian armed and nuclear-powered “Poseidon” torpedoes.
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Torpedoes are capable of creating a tsunami powerful enough to completely devastate coastal cities. Not only are they capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, but they are also capable of operating an “intercontinental range.”
The Khabarovsk submarine is one of the Russian Navy’s most secretive projects, described by the Russian Defense Ministry as a “nuclear-powered missile cruiser,” a broad category typically applied to nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. While there is no indication that the new submarine will carry ballistic missiles, Podeidon torpedoes are expected to be the main armament, complemented by anti-ship cruise and land attack missiles and traditional torpedoes.
Putin’s new submarine was launched over the weekend in the northern city of Severodvinsk. However, its release was pushed back five years from the original schedule after a series of unexplained delays.
Defense Minister Andrei Belousov stated: “The nuclear-powered heavy missile cruiser Khabarovsk is being launched from the renowned Sevmash shipyard. Carrying underwater weapons and robotic systems, it will allow us to successfully secure Russia’s maritime borders and protect its national interests in various parts of the world’s oceans.”
The huge submarine is powered by a nuclear engine and is capable of diving to depths of about 500 meters, being able to remain at sea for months. The submarine is reported to be based on the hull of the Borei-class submarine and has a similar-looking stern, including a jet bomb booster, which was partially covered during launch to hide any details.
The submarine’s construction costs have been kept secret; however, it is believed to have cost more than £1 billion. Analysts have warned that the secrecy surrounding the new ship’s full structure highlights Moscow’s fear in Western eyes and also indicates that much of the Khabarovsk’s design is still experimental.
A second submarine of the same class, the Ulyanovsk, is already under construction and is expected to join the Russian Pacific Fleet. The pair would allow Russia to have capacity in two oceans to deploy the Poseidon system, which analysts say is designed to project terror on both sides of the world.
According to Belousov, the Khabarovsk will begin sea trials before joining Russia’s nuclear deterrent fleet. However, Poseidon, known to NATO as Kanyon, is 20 meters long, 1.8 meters in diameter and weighs 100 tons, according to Russian media, breaking most traditional rules of nuclear deterrence and classification, according to arms control experts.
Last week, Putin declared that his forces had successfully tested the new missile underwater. He claimed that Poseidon’s power exceeded that of “even our most promising Sarmat intercontinental range missile”, known as SS-X-29 or Satan II.
“There is nothing like it in the world in terms of speed and depth of movement of this unmanned vehicle, and it is unlikely there ever will be,” he added. Since announcing the weapons system in 2018, Putin has presented it as a response to the US plan to build a missile defense shield after Washington in 2001 unilaterally withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and NATO’s eastern enlargement.
