Russia Is Building Submarines to Deliver a 'Radioactive Tsunami'

Mark Episkopos

Security,

The first special-purpose nuclear submarine to carry Russia’s upcoming “Poseidon” thermonuclear torpedoes, Belgorod, will enter trials in June 2020 and is due to be commissioned several months later, while the Poseidon system itself is unlikely to enter service until the late 2020’s.

The first special-purpose nuclear submarine to carry Russia’s upcoming “Poseidon” thermonuclear torpedoes, Belgorod, will enter trials in June 2020 and is due to be commissioned several months later, while the Poseidon system itself is unlikely to enter service until the late 2020’s.

"The vessel has already begun trials,” Sevmash shipyard Director General Mikhail Budnichenko told Russian state news agency TASS earlier this week. "Besides, we have a schedule approved by the Defense Ministry, and the work is being carried out in strict compliance with this schedule… in line with the schedule, the acceptance act is to be signed in September of the same year.”

Belgorod was laid down earlier this year at the Sevmash plant in the northwestern province of Severodvinsk, with Russian President Vladimir Putin heading the ceremony from Saint Petersburg via teleconference. As previously suggested by The National Interest and now confirmed by TASS, the Belgorod is a specialized variant of the Oscar-II cruise missile submarine line whose interior layout has been redesigned to accommodate up to six Poseidon drones. Belgorod’s hardware and performance specifications remain unknown, as does the configuration of the six Poseidon drones. Given the Belgorod’s smaller-than-expected size, it is possible that a rotary launcher is being used to save space and facilitate an easier loading process.

The Belgorod will be joining the upcoming Project 09851 Khabarovsk as one of two submarines that have been purpose-built for the Poseidon system. Additionally, at least two commissioned Oscar-II submarines will reportedly be retrofitted to accommodate Poseidon.