Russia's Most Powerful Submarine Has Disappeared. NATO Is Worried
At any given time, world powers are secretly tracking their enemies' submarines, so when a particularly powerful one that can launch a nuclear payload slips their sights, it's going to be a security issue.
The Belgorod, Russia’s state-of-the-art nuclear-powered submarine, was last seen in its harbor in the Arctic. But now it has disappeared, NATO is worried. Intelligence reports say the enormous nuclear submarine could be on its way to test its top-secret nuke drone in the Kara Sea—a narrow sea north-west of Russia notorious for radioactive contamination and nuclear waste dumping from the Soviet Union.
The Belgorod is one of the world’s largest military submarines. It is a modified Oscar II-class Russian nuclear sub. It was launched in 2019 and tested in July 2022, five months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The gigantic Russian sub is 184 meters long and is the world’s largest submarine. According to the Maritime Executive, The Belgorod is the longest submarine ever produced, outstripping the length of the massive Soviet-era Typhoon class. The Belgorod's most prominent mission is nuclear warhead delivery.
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The Belgorod on its maiden voyage
Now, world powers fear it could be used to launch a weapon of mass destruction from underwater. According to reports, the Belgorod is carrying a “doomsday weapon,” dubbed the Poseidon—an unmanned underwater vehicle with a nuclear payload. The Poseidon is meant to detonate near the coast, sending shockwaves of radioactive tsunami onto an unsuspecting city.
According to the Eurasian Times, the Poseidon is one of Russia’s six top-secret strategic weapons, dubbed ‘Super Weapons,’ that Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled during a speech in 2018 at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall near the Kremlin.
A report published by the Italian newspaper Republicca shows concerns from NATO regarding the Belgorod:
“The alarm stems from a NATO intelligence report, sent to the most important allied commands in recent days. The report concerns the movements of the Belgorod nuclear submarine, which became operational in July. Now she’s back to dive in the Arctic seas, and it is feared that her mission is to test for the first time the super-torpedo Poseidon, often referred to as ‘the weapon of the Apocalypse.”
Below is a video explaining what the Poseidon is: A super-large nuclear torpedo.
Back in September, Putin declared he will use “all available means necessary” to defend Russian territory, presumably including those he illegally took from Ukraine since the start of the Ukraine-Russia War in February. Analysts took that statement to mean using nuclear weapons.
Although the likelihood that the Ukraine War will escalate into a nuclear war is small, Ukraine is not taking any chances: its capital city of Kyiv has already started distributing potassium iodine pills as a mitigation measure in the event of a nuclear strike. When taken, potassium iodine helps the body block the absorption of harmful radiation.
Below are more photos of the Belgorod, the world's largest submarine.
