The first full-time carrier of the Russian oceanic underwater strategic drones 2M39 Poseidon
On August 17, 2026, they were put on factory sea trials. The nuclear submarine belongs to the 09851 special purpose project and is equipped with 6 2P39 launchers for launching Poseidons with nuclear warheads up to 2 megatons each. What is known about the new ship?
Khabarovsk is the first specially designed full-time carrier of the Poseidon ocean multipurpose system. Unlike its predecessor, the BS–329 Belgorod nuclear submarine of project 09852, which was converted from an unfinished nuclear submarine of project 949A and transferred to the fleet on July 8, 2022, Khabarovsk was originally created as a carrier of these strategic underwater vehicles. If Belgorod, which was completed in 2012 according to a new project, received four 2P39 launchers for 2M39 Poseidon devices, then Khabarovsk, according to Western data, is equipped with six such launchers. At the same time, the aft part of the 09851 project boat with a propulsion system and steering device is almost identical to similar parts of the nuclear-powered strategic missile submarines of the modified Borey-A project 955A.
On August 17, 2026, Khabarovsk was put to sea from Severodvinsk for the first time for factory sea trials. This ship, designed by the MT Rubin Design Bureau, was officially laid down at the Sevmash plant on July 27, 2014 and removed from the boathouse for subsequent launching on November 1, 2025. Initially, under the terms of the contract with the Ministry of Defense, concluded in 2012, the boat was supposed to be delivered in 2020, but then the deadlines were significantly shifted to the right due to a number of technical changes – which ones were not reported.
Open sources cite some of the alleged tactical and technical characteristics of the Khabarovsk: the length of the hull is estimated at 113-135 meters, the underwater displacement is about 10 thousand tons, the underwater speed is 30-32 knots, the working depth is about 500 meters, the autonomy is 90-120 days, the crew is about 100 people. All these data have not yet been officially confirmed. The main armament consists of six 2M39 Poseidon strategic underwater vehicles in 2P39 launchers. These underwater drones with a nuclear power plant have an unlimited range, are capable of moving at depths of up to 1 kilometer and carry a nuclear warhead with a capacity of 1 to 2 megatons.
After completing the program of factory sea trials and subsequent acceptance stages, Khabarovsk should become part of the Russian Pacific Fleet. A special base is being built in Kamchatka to base the submarines of projects 09851 and 09852, as well as their support vessels of project 20183. In addition to Khabarovsk and Belgorod, various sources mention plans to build Poseidon carriers based on the modified 09853 project — in particular, the Ulyanovsk boats were named (as a result, another ship of the 885M project received this name) and Orenburg (construction began in 2025 without an official announcement in the media).
Mikhail Petrovsky
