Putin unveils underwater Poseidon drone that carries nuclear warheads!

MOSCOW, Russia (PNN) - May 18, 2018 - A nuclear-powered underwater drone capable of destroying enemy naval bases and causing huge tsunamis is under construction in Russia, according to a state news agency.

The Poseidon will be able to carry a nuclear warhead with a capacity of up to two megatons, a source told TASS. The unnamed source said, "It will be possible to mount various nuclear charges on the torpedo of the Poseidon multipurpose seaborne system, with the thermonuclear single warhead... to have the maximum capacity of up to 2 megatons in TNT equivalent."

With its nuclear munition, the underwater drone "is primarily designed to destroy reinforced naval bases of a potential enemy," the source said.

The drone will have a speed of 60-70 knots and will be operational at a depth of more than 1 kilometer.

TASS has not been able to confirm the information.

Rex Richardson, a physicist, said, "A well-placed nuclear weapon of yield in the range 20 MT to 50 MT near a seacoast could certainly couple enough energy to equal the 2011 tsunami, and perhaps much more. Taking advantage of the rising-sea-floor amplification effect, tsunami waves reaching 100 meters [330 feet] in height are possible.”

The project of developing the Poseidon drone was unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his State of the Nation address to the Federal Assembly on March 1.

The Russian leader said that these drones could be armed with both conventional and nuclear munitions and would be capable of destroying enemy infrastructure, carrier-led naval forces, and other objectives.

Russia’s president claimed the Poseidon will have “hardly any vulnerabilities” and said it would carry a “massive nuclear ordinance”.

He added, “There is simply nothing in the world capable of withstanding them.”

Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Sergei Korolyov later said that the new weapon would enable the fleet to accomplish a broad range of missions in waters adjacent to enemy territory.

According to the chief naval commander, the trials of the drone’s basic element, the small-sized nuclear power plant, have already been carried out.

Poseidon drones together with their carriers make part of the so-called oceanic multipurpose system