What Happened to Russia’s New Doomsday Submarine?
This is Russia’s brand new 5th generation submarine the Belgorod it’s the world’s largest sub in active use today. But is more bigger, really more better? You might have heard it referred to by its menacing nickname, “Moscow’s Doomsday sub” because of its main weapon, the Poseidon intercontinental nuclear torpedo that Russia claims can trigger a tsunami to destroy entire coastal cities. Sounds like a Tom Clancy novel I would read. This new weapon comes at a time when Russia has withdrawn from a global treaty that banned nuclear weapon testing, and made numerous threats of nuclear retaliation. So Is the Belgorod really some new kind of superweapon? Or is it all just russian propaganda to scare you into locking your door and never going outside again. Jokes on them I do that anyway.
Written by: Chris Cappy & Justin Taylor
Edited by: Savvy Studios
Let’s put our existential dread about nuclear armageddon aside for just a second so we can look at its unique strategy. I like to think of the Belgorod sub as an underwater mothership. Because While most submarines serve as a launching platform for direct attacks, the Belgorod launches other independent crafts as well. These include their Artificial Intelligence assisted nuclear torpedos, underwater recon drones, and even other smaller submarines. It’s the world’s most dangerous underwater Russian nesting doll. All of these systems are launched from the Belgorod, and either return to it once their mission is complete, or are recovered later by separate vessels operated by the 110 crew onboard the sub.
If you’re looking for underwater cryptids like the Megladon this would be a very useful tool. But While all of these are significant capabilities, there’s one problem for Russia. For context the United States Navy has 18 of their Ohio Class submarines. Meanwhile Russia only has one of these Belgorod bad boys. Russia historically is very conservative with its deployment of their latest generation tech like the SU57 jet or T14 tank, and the utilization of them is generally a big deal. That said, because there is only one Belgorod, anytime we observe it making any movement whatsoever this could be an indication of a massive military move on Russia’s part. That’s why when the submarine simply leaves its normal port, we see it making news headlines around the world. It’s the taylor swift of military world unable to get any moment of privacy.
Credit to : Task & Purpose