Tsunami of Peaceful Coast. Imagine standing on a peaceful coastline, only to be met by the terrifying vista of an impending radioactive tsunami. That’s what is threatened by Russia’s new nuclear-armed Poseidon torpedo, which will devastatingly affect coastal cities and cause catastrophic radioactive floods.
In January 2023, the Russian news agency TASS reported that Russia had produced the first set of Poseidon torpedoes—nuclear-powered, long-range torpedoes designed to create destruction unparalleled in human history. Strategic experts, therefore, warned that a single Poseidon torpedo could easily wipe out a coastal city along with millions of people, turning even vast areas into radioactive wastelands.
The American name for the Poseidon is Kanyon, Ocean Multipurpose System, Status-6. It was first revealed by the Russian Navy in 2015 and reportedly tested in November 2016. The nuclear-powered underwater drone is designed to be launched from submarines and is expected to come into deployment by 2027.
The Poseidon torpedo boasts some amazing attributes. It is driven by a compact nuclear reactor and reportedly is capable of reaching 100 knots in speed, has a range of about 10,000 kilometers, and could plunge as deep as 1,000 meters. It is designed to avert detection by sonar. The warhead will be a nuclear warhead estimated to have a yield of at least several megatons. Early reports indicate a yield of potentially up to 100 megatons. To put this in perspective: Russia’s Tsar Bomba was the most powerful nuke ever detonated, with an estimated blast yield of roughly 50 megatons.
While some reports in the media describe it as a propaganda exercise, experts largely conclude that the system is “very real” and has been suitably resourced by the Russian armed forces. Intelligence reports indicate hundreds of trials of Poseidon have taken place, with several submarines being modified to carry the larger and heavier torpedo, and others built specifically. The Russian Navy is to buy at least 30 Poseidon torpedoes and fit them on four submarines.
Nuclear-tipped atomic torpedoes even date back to the 1950s, when the Soviet Union developed submarine-launched atomic torpedoes in a bold attempt to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal. In 1962, a Cuban missile crisis occurred when a Soviet submarine with a T-5 atomic torpedo almost launched against US forces—what would have been a potential catastrophe—until a deputy commander restrained the decision.
The Poseidon torpedo is part of a new wave of Russia’s approach to nuclear deterrence. Russia already has a legacy nuclear weapons command system—the Dead Hand—an automated system developed in the Cold War. However, with the improvement of US ballistic missile defense systems, the advantage provided by the Russian Perimeter system was lost. According to Russian authorities, who describe the Poseidon torpedo as a multi-purpose system, its role can be manifold: going around US ballistic defenses, targeting aircraft carrier groups, and coastal areas.
There are reasonable fears regarding the use of independent autonomous platforms to deliver nuclear munitions, such as the Poseidon torpedo, which would destabilize strategic stability. With the development of artificial intelligence and technologies for building unmanned underwater vehicles, the ability for people to exercise direct control over the use of nuclear munitions will significantly decrease, thereby introducing new risks. However, most experts, as well as several US officials, said this addition to the Poseidon torpedo to the Russian nuclear stockpile does not materially affect the strategic nuclear balance with the United States.
But, instead, Poseidon is mainly conceived as a psychological weapon meant for nuclear signaling rather than real application. According to this view, the Poseidon is nothing but a successful paper design, meant to meet a series of political objectives, which have now been achieved – namely, renewed talks with the United States about ballistic missile defense sys.
Activities by the Russian submarine Belgorod, carrying Poseidon torpedoes, were reported in the Arctic area and are now reported to be in the region of the Kara Sea. Belgorod’s activities raised fears of a probable nuclear weapon test. Pentagon officials tried to downplay the severity of the submarine’s recent operations, although the situation is being closely monitored.
The Poseidon torpedo, with the ability to create a 1,600-foot radioactive tsunami, represents a new development in underwater nuclear war. In the relentless development of new recoverable reconnaissance nuclear hardware, we shouldn’t spare any effort in discussing arms control and risk mitigation. Understanding challenges from unmanned automated nuclear vehicles like Poseidon helps maintain strategic stability and prevent inadvertent escalations.