Russia Tests Nuclear-Powered Poseidon Torpedo

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia successfully tested the Poseidon, a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable unmanned underwater drone/torpedo. He said the weapon’s nuclear power unit was run for the first time and that it was launched from a carrier submarine. Putin touted Poseidon as unmatched in speed and depth and “impossible to intercept,” claiming its reactor is far smaller than submarine reactors and that its warhead potency may exceed that of the Sarmat ICBM. Independent experts and Western outlets say the system appears intended not for pinpoint strikes but to generate radioactive ocean surges that could render coastal cities uninhabitable and describe it as a new category of retaliatory weapon. Putin gave few technical details, not disclosing launch location or range, and the announcement follows recent Russian tests of other nuclear-capable systems such as the Burevestnik cruise missile. The declaration reinforces Moscow’s broader nuclear messaging amid the war in Ukraine and an intensifying arms-race narrative.