It isn’t often we pen a blog post about the latest advancements in the world’s arsenals. If we did, we’d end up writing about something every day and never get around to discussing some of the coolest pieces of diecast hardware coming to market. Recently, however, we were caught off guard by an article posted by The National Interest, which happens to do an excellent job of covering all of the world’s latest developments in the military sector.
According to a November 7th posting, Russia is preparing to reconfigure an Oscar II class submarine that would enable it to launch a flotilla of nuclear-powered drones. According to Russian state media, which oftentimes likes to boast about some of their latest military breakthroughs in the hopes of intimidating the West, “the Russian Navy is on track to deploy up to 32 of its “Poseidon” thermonuclear drones across four submarines.
Poseidon is an underwater drone weapon, armed with a 2-megaton nuclear or conventional payload that can be detonated “thousands of feet” below the surface. This is meant to generate a radioactive tsunami capable of destroying coastal cities and other infrastructure several kilometers inland.
Poseidon can remain submerged at up to one kilometer, travels at a maximum speed of 200 kilometers per hour, and is programmed to execute three-dimensional evasive maneuvers in response to interception attempts.”
We’ll leave it up to you to determine if this latest development should be a cause of worry and consternation for Western war planners who are once again grappling with a Cold War foe determined to flex its muscles in the increasingly more dangerous 21st Century world. For more information on the Poseidon, pay a visit to The National Interest.