A whole historiography of heated debates has already developed around the newest miracle torpedo Poseidon (aka Status-6). There are many articles discussing its characteristics, possible device, and especially the damage that a torpedo can inflict on an adversary.
However, I think that these discussions are worthless, since there is some reason to believe that the "Poseidon" so far in reality, as a product capable of independently sailing even a measured mile, does not exist. Therefore, disputes about its characteristics are a discussion of a purely speculative subject. It is also very useful to discuss speculative things, but it is necessary to clearly understand what belongs to pure theory, and what to a real model of naval weapons that can be immediately applied.
What evidence?
There is not much evidence of the reality of "Poseidon", so they can be enumerated. A diagram shown on television, two photographs, one of which is a torpedo in the workshop, and the other is something in a transport-launch container, lifted by a crane, and, finally, a video of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which shows how something is fired from a transport-launch container, like the one in the photo.
The scheme on paper should be rejected as strong evidence, since, as you know, paper will endure everything.
The video is also unconvincing, as it shows very hazy footage of something fired from something that cannot be uniquely identified. It can be assumed that we were shown shots of a shot of some product from a TPK, like the one shown in the photo. In any case, the container lid is very similar.
But is this "Poseidon"? It was not possible to collect unequivocal evidence of this. Basically, the most affordable way is to compare the dimensions of the product in one photo and the container in the other. This proves little, but, if coincidentally, at least allows one to believe.
However, the size of the container is unlikely to be determined from the photograph. The container hangs on a traverse (a device for slinging and lifting long loads with a crane). Knowing the dimensions of the traverse, it would not be so difficult to calculate the dimensions of the container suspended under it. This traverse is an unusual, special manufacture, designed for lifting oversized loads with the ability to balance the load. A patent was issued for it belonging to the Design Bureau of Heavy Engineering, which describes in detail the device and principles of operation of this traverse. But the patent does not indicate the dimensions, and due to the fact that this is a piece product, and not a standard one, its technical data is also not available in the public domain.
The same applies to other photography. Although approximate calculations are possible based on the height of a person (who is seen standing behind the torpedo), it is very rough, since the height of people varies quite a lot and you can therefore be mistaken. Other standard objects or pieces of equipment with a known size are also not present in the frame, in any case, I could not find them.
Against the background of the products, there are various kinds of pipes (the dimensions of which are standard), the spans of the workshops are visible (the dimensions of which are also standard), but they are quite far from the product and therefore using them as a scale will also lead to gross errors.
So, we cannot independently compare at least the geometric dimensions of the two products from the photographs presented, and from this it follows that it is far from the fact that the torpedo in one photo is the same torpedo in the other photo, and that it is also fired in the presented video. This cannot be confirmed by anything. If anyone believes that Poseidon was actually experienced, then it is only a matter of faith in the corresponding statements.
Life-size layout
Photos contain a lot of different information, including the one that the photographer did not want to display. For example, from a photo of a torpedo in the workshop, it can be concluded that this is not a real torpedo, but only its full-size overall layout, possibly made for a certain kind of tests.
The fact is that on any real torpedo there are a number of hatches, valves and connectors, which are designed to service and bring the torpedo into combat readiness. In addition, on a combat torpedo, the warhead is detachable, which is clearly visible both in the color and in the bolt fastening of the warhead to the hull.
In the presented photo, we see, firstly, the complete absence of such hatches, valves and connectors on the product body. And there should be a lot of them and more than a torpedo. There should be a large hatch for access to the reactor, a hatch for access to the propulsion system, hatches for access to the hydraulic rudders. There should be connectors for cables designed to monitor and control the torpedo units (especially the reactor) while it is docked to the carrier boat. In addition, since they say about Poseidon that she can swim far and change the depth of diving, which implies the possibility of changing the buoyancy, that is, the presence of ballast tanks and valves that are supposed to be them.
Finally, the warhead must be detachable. In the photo, we see the exact opposite: a detachable aft part with a propeller-steering group, and the rest of the hull, which does not have hatches and valves, is also made one-piece.
By virtue of these observations, I believe that the product shown in the photo is a mass and size torpedo model designed for testing in the pool, as well as for towing. It probably does not have an engine and is towed by a boat for testing (the holes in the head are very similar to the haws for securing the towing end). Since it is huge and noticeably larger than other torpedoes, it is advisable to find out how it behaves, say, at 30 knots: whether it keeps its course and depth, whether it has enough rudders for maneuvers, and so on, and in sea conditions, with waves, currents and fluctuations in water salinity. If you make a certain device designed for long-distance autonomous navigation in a submerged position, then you cannot do without such tests.
So, most likely, at the moment, "Poseidon" simply does not exist as a product capable of swimming even a measured mile, let alone something more. The model may say that work is underway on some product, which in the distant future may become "Poseidon", but there is no complete certainty that this is so. In general, all this can be disinformation from the very beginning and from the first word, and disinformation for a wide variety of purposes.
Therefore, I would suggest to moderate the ardor a little, since the discussion of the characteristics and capabilities of "Poseidon" is still only pure theory.
