Russia To Complete Infrastructure For Poseidon-Capable Nuclear Submarine Fleet By 2024
Russia’s TASS news agency reported this week that, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, infrastructure development plans for updated Pacific fleet nuclear submarine operations are set to be completed in early 2024. Pacific operations, once considered a long neglected element of Russia’s navy, have been undergoing a revamp since 2015 under orders from the Kremlin. The completion of base improvements coincides with the reported deployment of Russia’s new Poseidon super torpedoes, which were also commissioned in 2015.
Though TASS is often accused of acting as a propaganda platform for the Russian government, developments on the Poseidon torpedo are confirmed by multiple sources including the US Department of Defense and Congress.
The first delivery of Poseidon torpedoes was officially announced in January of 2023, and dummy rounds were tested in the arctic around the same time period. The weapons, which some sources refer to as “terrifying Apocalypse torpedoes” are 65 ft long, though estimates greatly vary on the nuclear yield of the weapons. Some experts argue the Poseidon could carry a 2 megaton warhead, others argue that it is capable of carrying up to a 100 megaton yield. A 2 megaton warhead would be 100 times the explosive power of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII.
But what makes the Poseidon more dangerous than the average nuke? Data on the device is limited, but the torpedoes are suspected to be a mixture of missile and drone technology. They carry a nuclear powered propulsion engine and can travel 80 miles per hour underwater (making countermeasures difficult). To give a sense of the speed, the average US nuclear submarine travels around 30 miles per hour (complete details are top secret), and the average US sub torpedo travels at around 57 miles per hour. In other words, catching and killing a Poseidon torpedo would be almost impossible.
The Pentagon and others in the government actually think they can win a first strike nuclear attack against Russia. Idiots.