The Russian strategic unmanned submersible Poseidon, the creation of which by Russian President Vladimir Putin told in his Address to the Federal Assembly in March 2018, will be able to move at a maximum speed of over 200 kilometers per hour (about 110 knots).
According to a source in the military-industrial complex (DIC), after the drone leaves the submarine carrier, he will go to the target at a depth of more than a kilometer. Along the way, the Poseidon will continuously maneuver along the course and depth. This, given its speed and depth of travel, “makes the defeat of the drone existing means of a potential enemy impossible,” said a source quoted by TASS.
The expert added that Poseidon, like the Squall rocket-torpedo, will move at maximum speed in an air cavity (a cavity with water vapor will form around the device), which significantly reduces the resistance of the medium.
According to another source in the defense industry, the Poseidon will be able to carry a nuclear warhead with a capacity of up to two megatons to destroy enemy naval bases.
The maximum underwater speed of modern nuclear submarines is about 60 kilometers per hour (30-35 knots), torpedoes are about 90 kilometers per hour (up to 50 knots). Rocket-torpedo “Squall” with a jet engine can, according to various sources, go under water at a speed of 370 kilometers per hour (up to 200 knots), but at a distance of just over 10 kilometers and at shallow depth.
At the end of December last year, Poseidon went to sea for testing. Testing takes place in a special area, reliably protected from the intelligence of other countries. As the carrier of the drone is used one of the nuclear submarines of the Russian Navy.