A Russian Navy nuclear submarine, the Belgorod, armed with enormous nuclear-tipped torpedoes, was found operating in the Arctic, and there are fears over potential nuclear detonation. Photos have appeared recently showing the Project 09852 nuclear sub Belgorod operating on the surface in the Barents Sea, near the Kola Peninsula, on September 22 and 27, according to a report by H I Sutton for Naval News.
Earlier this week, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that European military officials had been warned the submarine was moving toward the Kara Sea for testing purposes on the Poseidon torpedoes. UDefense officials wouldn’t discuss Belgorod’s activities in reaction to the report, a UDefense senior military official said, “I have nothing to share on [Belgorod],” continuing, “There’s been no change in the U.S. military posture.”.
The Poseidon torpedoes were first revealed in 2015 as strategic nuclear weapons designed to bypass Western ballistic missile defenses. These are 80-foot nuclear torpedoes that could be equipped with a 100-megaton warhead, which can be fired from a distance of thousands of miles and would be directed at coastal areas to do the maximum amount of damage through gigantic radioactive contamination.
The Belgorod, a guided-missile submarine based on the design of the Oscar class of guided-missile submarines, was officially commissioned last month into the Russian Navy. The Belgorod belongs to Russia’s special submarine force, GUGI, or Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research. In addition to its six Poseidons, the 30,000-tonne Belgorod would also be a mothership for smaller submersibles used by the Russians in deep-water operations.
It opens up new opportunities for Russia in conducting a variety of research, allows conducting diverse scientific expeditions, and rescue operations in the most remote areas of the world ocean”, Adm. Nikolai Anatolyevich Yevmenov, the chief of the Russian Navy, said.
NATO has issued warnings that the Belgorod submarine and its Poseidon torpedoes have disappeared from their base in the Arctic. The “Intercontinental Nuclear-Powered Nuclear-Armed Autonomous Torpedo” is designed to create a 1,600-foot nuclear tsunami against coastal cities. Announced in 2018 by President Vladimir Putin as a next-generation weapon, it can supposedly travel underwater for up to 6,000 miles and packs an explosion of two megatons.
A strategic intelligence expert, Rebekah Koffler, observed that such a weapon would only be used by Russia as a last resort in a direct kinetic war with the U.S. if Russia were losing. She further mentioned that, according to her best assessment, Poseidon is not operational until 2027, but Putin may be testing it to try to intimidate Ukraine and NATO allies.
The Belgorod’s current whereabouts are not known, but its submarines are notoriously stealthy—having slipped into American waters undetected before. The development comes amid a relative bog of veiled nuclear threats from President Putin, who warned Russia’s potential use of nuclear arms wasn’t a ‘bluff’.
The deployment of Belgorod and possible testing of Poseidon torpedoes increase Russia’s military potential to a whole new level, reflecting its general nuclear strategy and doctrine. The Poseidon torpedo is the next enhancement to Russia’s nuclear deterrence strategy, directed not only toward bypassing U.S. defenses against ballistic missile strikes, but also fully capable of carrying out a wide variety of missions, from striking aircraft carrier groups to striking coastal cities.
The situation as it unfolds has everyone in the international community holding their breath, watching the actions of Russia and what it pretends for world security.