• The Belgorod is longer than the US Navy’s Ohio class ballistic and guided missile submarines.
• Poseidon torpedoes could be used against aircraft carrier groups, shore fortifications, and infrastructure.
• Russia’s nuclear-powered Khabarovsk class of subs could launch this year.

The Russian Navy has received the world’s longest submarine, which its maker touts as a research vessel. Others say it’s a platform for espionage and possibly nuclear weapons.

Sevmash Shipyard, Russia’s largest shipbuilder, delivered the Belgorod to the Russian Navy in Severodvinsk this month.

Its design is a modified version of Russia’s Oscar II class guided-missile submarines, made longer to fit the world’s first nuclear-armed stealth torpedoes and intelligence-gathering equipment.

The Belgorod is longer than the US Navy’s Ohio class ballistic and guided missile submarines (171 metres) (569 feet).

Megatorpedo

The Belgorod’s mission sets it apart from other nuclear-powered submarines in the Russian fleet and worldwide.

“This nuclear ‘mega torpedo’ is unique in the history of the world,”  H. I. Sutton wrote in March.
submarine expert H. I. Sutton wrote on his Covert Shores website in March.

“Poseidon is a completely new category of weapon. It will reshape naval planning in both Russia and the West, leading to new requirements and new counter-weapons,” Writer Sutton

Torpedo doubts

Putin praised the Poseidons in a 2018 speech, saying, “They’re quiet, highly manoeuvrable, and have few vulnerabilities.”

Poseidons could be used against aircraft carrier groups, shore fortifications, and infrastructure, Putin said.

The weapon’s future in Russia’s arsenal is uncertain.

“Both the torpedo and the platform are still in development,” said Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists.

He expects Poseidon to be ready by the end of the decade. The CRS expects to deploy Poseidon torpedoes in 2027.

The Belgorod is a test vessel for the Khabarovsk class of nuclear-powered submarines, the first of which could launch this year.

‘Underwater game of cat and mouse’

The CRS said two submarines destined for Russia’s Pacific Fleet and two for its Northern Fleet could carry Poseidon torpedoes.

The next three Poseidon-armed subs, the Khabarovsk class, “are likely to be the defining submarine of the 2020s because they represent a novel and difficult adversary.” according to Covert Shores’ Sutton.

“Other navies are unlikely to emulate it, but they will want to counter it,” Sutton said. “US Navy and (British) Royal Navy hunter-killer submarines could stalk the Russians. Arctic, North Atlantic, North Pacific Cold War “The underwater game of cat and mouse where US Navy and (British) Royal Navy hunter-killer submarines stalk the Russians could be reinvigorated. A new Cold War in the Arctic, North Atlantic and North Pacific”

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