Putins’ new Khabarovsk submarine was launched from the Sevmash shipyard and is capable of carrying devastating Poseidon torpedoes which are capable of wiping out coastal cities
Chilling new satellite pictures have captured the full scale of Russia’s new nuclear-powered submarine, capable of firing devastating nuclear torpedoes.
Moscow’s latest nuclear asset, the Khabarovsk-class submarine, has been seen in its full size for the first time in the latest satellite images. The sub, capable of launching atomic torpedoes was pictured docked at the Sevmash shipyard workshop.
The shipyard is the location for new submarines of Project 09851, the Khabarovsk class submarines under construction for the Russian Navy, to be assembled. The nuclear sub is around 135 – 140 metres long, and about 13.5m wide, and is capable of firing Russia’s new nuclear powered and armed ‘Poseidon’ torpedoes.
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The torpedoes are capable of creating a tsunami powerful enough to completely devastate coastal cities. Not only are they capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, they are also capable of operating a ‘intercontinental range’.
The Khabarovsk submarine is one of the Russian Navy’s most secretive projects, described by the Russian Ministry of Defence as a «nuclear-powered missile cruiser» – a broad category usually applied to nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. While there is no indication the new sub will carry ballistic missiles, with Podeidon torpedoes tipped to be the primary armament, supplemented by land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles and traditional torpedoes.
Putin’s new submarine was launched over the weekend in the northern city of Severodvinsk. However, it’s launch came five years behind the original schedule after a series of unexplained delays.
Defence Minister Andrei Belousov declared: «The heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Khabarovsk is being launched from the renowned Sevmash shipyard. Carrying underwater weapons and robotic systems, it will enable us to successfully secure Russia’s maritime borders and protect its national interests in various parts of the world’s oceans.»
The huge submarine is powered by a nuclear engine and is capable of diving to depths of around 500 metres, being able to remain at sea for months. The submarine is reported to be based on the hull of the Borei class submarine and has a similar-looking stern, including a pump-jet propulsor, which was partly covered during the launch to obscure any details.
Construction costs for the sub have been cloaked in secrecy, however it is believed to have cost more than £1 billion. Analysts have warned that the secrecy around the full structure of the new vessel highlights Moscow’s fear of Western eyes, and also signals that much of the Khabarovsk’s design is still experimental.
A second submarine of the same class, the Ulyanovsk, is already under construction and expected to join Russia‘s Pacific Fleet. The pair would enable Russia dual-ocean capability to deploy the Poseidon system, which analysts claim is designed to project terror on both sides of the globe.
The Khabarovsk is set to begin sea trials before joining Russia’s nuclear deterrent fleet, according to Belousov. However, Poseidon, known by NATO as Kanyon, is 20m long, 1.8m in diameter and weighs 100 tonnes, according to Russian media, which breaks most of the traditional nuclear deterrence and classification rules, according to arms control experts.
Last week, Putin declared that his forces had successfully tested the new missile underwater. He claimed Poseidon’s power exceeded that of «even our most promising Sarmat intercontinental-range missile», known as SS-X-29 or Satan II.
“There is nothing like this in the world in terms of the speed and the depth of the movement of this unmanned vehicle — and it is unlikely there ever will be,” he added. Since the announcement of the weapons system in 2018, Putin has portrayed them as a response to the US plan to build a missile defence shield after Washington in 2001 unilaterally withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and NATO’s eastern enlargement.
