Poseidon underwater missile is a robot submarine that can inch its way to a target on the seafloor stealthily. The next question is whether it is better to deploy it instead of a newly developed hypersonic missile that travels at Mach 5-plus.
The fast development of arms is staggering, but unlike the Poseidon that circumvents the skies, being a robotic undersea vehicle that can go deep and reach a target slower than other armaments.
But, maybe the reason for it developing is another dimension to the modern battlefield, which is getting asymmetrical.
Russian new stealth underwater robot submarine
Compare it to traditional nuclear-armed inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and hypersonic missiles that are not likely to get intercepted. So, how can such a system be an effective deterrent, reports the Nationalist Interest.
The question lies on why inch an uncrewed submerged vehicle close enough to take out an aircraft carrier with a nuke warhead.
One of the best ways to sink a US carrier is to send several super-fast missiles like the Mach 5-plus Khinzal. When it comes to substantive nuclear weapons, Russia has many ways to deliver them to destroy American ships.
Russia's Poseidon thermonuclear torpedo
The Poseidon is an 80-feet long autonomous submarine with a nuclear engine or a sea-going ICBM, autonomously navigating on the ocean floor to finally reach a coastal zone of the target.
Poseidon underwater missile destroys the enemy by exploding the nuclear core in the sea to create a massive tsunami to flood coastal areas.
One Russian defense official mentioned to TASS news agency, who said the testing of the submarine drone is a means to prevent snooping by the US.
The source reported the reactor is placed in the hull but is considered an experimental design that is not under complete sea trials.
Why do the Russian forces need the USV when it being a first-strike weapon system is not its use. It is a vengeance weapon with a two-megaton warhead if the US will fire the firsts nukes at Moscow. Still, there is an intention to overwhelm American defense systems to destroy.
What matters is the robot submarine, once released, will be navigated and attack with its AI until it explodes to incur casualties on Russia's enemies by unleashing a tsunami irradiated to drown cities, cites Interesting Engineering.
Another use is to set lose the Poseidon USV against the vaunted aircraft carriers of the US Navy. Equipped with nukes and able to swim fast, anti-sub defenses are supposed to keep up with difficulty.
In a speech in March 2018, Vladimir Putin said the system would dive deep and move faster than a submarine in the water. Quiet and very agile help it skirts detection, defenses that it will be almost impervious to attempts to stop it.
Putin added that Russian engineers had developed a smaller nuclear-fueled power unit with great power to weight. Significantly small and very adaptable to function in a combat mode at 200 times faster when swimming.
In the end, the Poseidon underwater missile can wreck coastlines and destroy ships, and it is one doomsday weapon that Russian has to make nations think twice.
Related Article: US Navy Develops Sea Drones to Join Surface Fleet for Joint Attack
