Russia has officially launched the Khabarovsk, a cutting-edge nuclear-powered submarine designed to deploy the Poseidon underwater drone, a weapon system dubbed the “doomsday missile” for its potential to devastate coastal infrastructure with massive radioactive waves. Russian Ministry of Défense announced on Saturday that a launching ceremony of the nuclear submarine was held at JSC Production Association Sevmash, a major Russian shipbuilding enterprise.
The stealthy vessel, weighing approximately 10,000 tons, slid into the White Sea from the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk on Saturday during the low-key ceremony attended by Russian naval officials and defence industry executives.
As the first in its class to enter production, the Khabarovsk represents a significant leap in underwater warfare capabilities, which will serve as a dedicated “mothership” for up to six Poseidon underwater drones.
The Poseidon, a nuclear-powered autonomous torpedo, is engineered for long-range, stealthy strikes against enemy harbours and coastal cities. Traveling at speeds exceeding 200km per hour and depths beyond 1,000 meters, it can generate artificial tsunamis through a thermonuclear warhead with a yield potentially reaching 100 megatons. The torpedo has a range of over 10,000 km, and can constantly changing route, which makes it impossible to intercept.
Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted the system’s readiness last week, announcing successful tests of a Poseidon prototype and emphasizing its role as a deterrent against “aggressors.” He said, “For the first time, we managed not only to launch it with a launch engine from a carrier submarine, but also to launch the nuclear power unit on which this device passed a certain amount of time.”
Putin said that the Poseidon torpedo can’t be intercepted, and that the weapon is so new that they are yet to identify what it is, what class of weapons belongs to. “This is not an offensive weapon but a guarantee of peace,” He stated in a televised address.
The Khabarovsk’s development, part of Russia’s broader “Status-6” program initiated over a decade ago, faced delays but has now accelerated, with sea trials expected to begin in early 2026. The submarine has been developed as a response to perceived vulnerabilities in Russia’s conventional submarine fleet, particularly against U.S. advancements in anti-submarine warfare.
The launch coincides with Russia’s unveiling of other exotic weapons, including the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, signalling major upgrades in Russia’s military capabilities amid its ongoing war in Ukraine.
Both the Poseidon and the Burevestnik are Armageddon weapons, capable of causing massive destructions, and therefore unlikely to be used as first strike weapons. They are retaliatory weapons, to be deployed if Russia is forced to do so.
As the Khabarovsk submarine still has to complete a series of sea tests, and it will take months for its operational deployment. It is anticipated to be deployed to the Northern Fleet by 2027.
