A year ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time officially disclosed information about a promising project of an underwater unmanned vehicle, later called Poseidon. The project as a whole is still secret, and most of the information about it is not subject to disclosure. However, Poseidon has been featured in the news multiple times in recent weeks. Information about him came both from anonymous sources and from officials. These messages show the latest industry successes and plans for the near future.
On February 2, the President met with the heads of the Foreign and Defense Ministries. During this event, V. Putin pointed out that a few days earlier, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed him about the completion of a key stage of testing the new Poseidon system. At the same time, the president and the head of the military department did not specify what kind of work they were talking about.
Over the next few days, the TASS news agency published a series of news stories about Poseidon. The announced information was obtained from anonymous sources in the military-industrial complex, and at the time of its appearance this news had no official confirmation. Nevertheless, despite the ambiguous status, news from TASS is of great interest.
On February 3, a TASS source indicated that Poseidon would be able to bypass the enemy's defense systems on its own, making it practically invulnerable. An autonomous control system will allow you to find and overcome any anti-submarine lines or other defense systems. The solution of such problems will facilitate the high running characteristics of the product. Due to new engineering solutions, it is capable of reaching a speed of 200 km / h and diving to a depth of 1 km.
According to the source, the Poseidon multipurpose system will include an unmanned underwater vehicle itself, as well as a carrier submarine. Such a complex will be able to solve a wide range of tasks, from attacking strategic targets to fighting enemy ship groups.
On February 6, TASS announced the completion of underwater tests of the Poseidon power plant. The new product was tested under water at one of the offshore test sites and fully confirmed its characteristics. The possibility of providing speeds up to 200 km / h and practically unlimited cruising range has been confirmed.
On February 10, a TASS source said that successful tests of the power plant allow starting a new stage of inspections. If weather conditions are favorable, Poseidon's sea trials will start next summer. First, the product will be tested using a coastal stand: its launcher must fire an underwater vehicle. The standard carrier of Poseidon, the special submarine Khabarovsk, pr. 09851, has not yet been completed, and therefore cannot yet participate in the tests.
The following information about the Poseidon project again came from the country's leadership. On February 20, the President delivered his annual message to the Federal Assembly, in the framework of which he mentioned a number of promising developments in the field of weapons.
V. Putin said that the Poseidon underwater vehicle, like other latest developments, is being successfully tested. He also said that in the spring of 2019, a submarine will be launched, which will be the carrier of the new weapon. Work in this direction is being carried out in accordance with plans. At the same time, the president did not specify the launch date or the name of the carrier ship.
Immediately after V. Putin's speech, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke about the progress of work on Poseidon. According to him, the product has been successfully tested at sea. The personnel of the carrier submarine have already passed the necessary training. The head of the military department also clarified the president's data on other promising projects.
On the same day, the Department of Defense published a new video showing the testing of the Poseidon product. The video begins with shots from the workshop of an unknown enterprise. A crane was used to reload a supposedly transport-launch container in a characteristic contrasting checkerboard color. Also, a closed conveyor car was partially captured in the frame. Then the spectators were shown the work of the submariners and the night view from the cabin of the carrier submarine. The last footage of the video showed the process of the Poseidon spacecraft exiting the launcher. Leaving the carrier, the product breaks through the membrane-lid of the container.
On December 21, extremely interesting information began to circulate in the specialized blogs of the LiveJournal, revealing the history of the Poseidon project and shedding light on its other features. So, it became known that in the city of Vilyuchinsk, construction of special facilities for storage and maintenance of 2A03 products from the 2M39 complex is being carried out. The previously unknown indexes seem to refer specifically to the project now known as Poseidon.
It is also reported that for the product 2M39 by the forces of the Central Design Bureau of Marine Engineering "Rubin" and the Scientific Research Technological Institute. A. P. Aleksandrov, the development of a certain "system of stabilization of the water-chemical and gas regime" was carried out. The contract for such work was signed back in June 1992. Thus, the program, the result of which is now the Poseidon product, started no later than the early nineties.
On February 26, interesting news came from the United States. The American command is closely monitoring the latest Russian projects and studying the available data. Some conclusions are also made. A regular hearing of the Congressional Armed Services Committee was held last Tuesday. At this event, the head of the Strategic Command, General John Hayten, commented on new Russian developments, including the Poseidon product.
The head of STRATCOM noted that the new Russian weapons are not subject to the restrictions of the START III treaty. This agreement determined the further fate of only those weapons that existed at the time of its entry into force in 2011, and newer systems do not apply to the treaty. Russia has managed to find this loophole in the agreement and is using it for its own purposes. Russian activity "outside the framework of the treaty" worries Washington. In this regard, the American side would like to create a new agreement regulating unmanned underwater vehicles with nuclear weapons and other new systems.
J. Hayten also pointed out that the United States is not developing direct analogues of Poseidon or other new Russian weapons. The Pentagon believes that the defense of the country can be carried out by modernizing the existing strategic nuclear forces. It is proposed to expand their capabilities with the help of a new low-power warhead for ballistic missiles and submarine-launched cruise missiles. General Hayten called these measures a "measured response" to overseas activities.
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Thus, over the past month, a large amount of important information has been received about the promising Poseidon project. Some of the data was released by officials or obtained from documents, while other news was published with reference to unnamed sources related to the project. However, all these messages add up to the big picture and supplement the information already available.
Thanks to the latest reports, it became known that the development of a new class of uninhabited underwater system started a long time ago and continued for several decades. By now, the project has reached the stage of testing individual components, and in the near future, inspections of the complete product will begin. In addition, the first submarine is expected to be launched over the next few months to serve as the Poseidon's carrier. Past tests, most likely, were carried out using another experimental vessel.
The exact tactical and technical characteristics still remain unknown. Anonymous sources speak of speeds of the order of 200 km / h and great diving depths. Officials, in turn, mention an almost unlimited cruising range. The use of a special warhead of unnamed power is also indicated. The timing of the completion of the tests and the setting of "Poseidon" on combat duty are unknown.
The new Russian project, as expected, attracts the attention of the foreign military, and they are trying to form their own opinion about it. From the latest statements from the command, it follows that the Pentagon does not consider Poseidon to be in any way a violation of existing treaties, but at the same time considers it necessary to develop its nuclear forces to counter the growing Russian forces.
As we can see, even before the test was completed and the Poseidon submarine was put into service, it began to influence the international situation and became the reason for new decisions by the military leadership of third countries. One can only guess what will happen after the completion of the current work and the adoption of the new system into service. How foreign countries will react to this is not yet completely clear. However, it is already clear that Russia in the future will receive not just a promising weapons system, but a serious instrument of strategic deterrence.
