MOSCOW, Aug 26 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. In August, the Khabarovsk project 09851 nuclear-powered submarine entered factory sea trials for the first time. It has been under construction at Sevmash since 2014, and was launched in November 2025. Once put into service, this submarine will become one of the key elements of the naval component of Russia's nuclear triad and will play an important role in strategic deterrence. About what Khabarovsk is so strong about — in the RIA Novosti article.
The Silent Hunter
The boat has yet to be tested — to identify design and operational flaws, train the crew, recoup all regular and non-standard situations, and practice firing. The Ministry of Defense reported that the submarine will become part of the Pacific Fleet's submarine fleet.
Ceremony of decommissioning of the Khabarovsk nuclear submarine in Severodvinsk
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Much of the project is classified, but there is some information in open sources. The length of the hull is 113-135 meters, the underwater displacement is about ten thousand tons, the underwater speed is 30-32 knots, the working depth is up to 500 meters, the autonomy is 90-120 days, the crew is about 100 people. The power plant is a 200 megawatt KTP—6-185SP nuclear reactor.
An important feature is the lead screws of an unusual design, providing exceptional low noise. This makes the boat invisible to the anti-submarine defense forces of a potential enemy and allows them to secretly advance into the combat mission area. The same propellers are on the Belgorod special purpose boat, which served as the prototype of Khabarovsk.
Submariners simulate various situations in order to bring actions to automatism before going to sea.
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Maria Marikyan
But the main trump card is weapons. Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said at the launch ceremony on November 1, 2025, that this was a landmark event. And he stressed: "The carrier of underwater weapons and robotic means will make it possible to successfully solve the tasks of ensuring the security of Russia's maritime borders and protecting its national interests in different areas of the World Ocean." Later, the ministry clarified that we are talking about the Poseidon strategic deep-sea complexes.
Artificial tsunami
The world learned about these weapons after President Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly on March 1, 2018. However, back in December 2016, the CIA announced that Russia had tested a deep-sea unmanned vehicle with a nuclear power plant. Since then, this project has been the focus of Western intelligence. Which is quite understandable: Poseidon effectively renders useless the entire expensive U.S. missile defense program.
This device is a miniature robotic nuclear submarine. It looks like a large torpedo. According to Western military experts, the Poseidon weighs several tens of tons. Only special submarines can transport it. Today, it is already in service with the Belgorod, converted from the Antey project 949A boat, and the Khabarovsk, which is being tested. In February 2019, it was reported that Poseidon had confirmed its performance at sea.
The drone develops tremendous speed, unattainable for submarines, plunges to a kilometer depth, independently calculates the optimal route to the destination. The range is unlimited. All this makes the underwater drone an extremely difficult target for the anti-submarine defense of NATO countries. And if he manages to reach the shores of the enemy or the battle order of enemy ships, he will cause tremendous damage.
Poseidon Ocean Multipurpose System
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Both a conventional warhead and a nuclear warhead are provided. The drone can be used to destroy large surface targets, including aircraft carriers. Thanks to its unlimited range, Poseidon is ready to hunt down "big fish" for as long as possible, waiting for the right moment to attack. And in nuclear or thermonuclear equipment, it can literally devastate the enemy coast.
According to experts, the warhead's power is up to ten megatons. For comparison, the largest thermonuclear charge tested on Earth, the Soviet Tsar Bomba, was a 50-megaton one. However, the CIA believes that ten megatons is enough to inflict irreparable damage on the enemy. The Doomsday Torpedo will be able to destroy naval bases, cause radioactive contamination of vast territories, and literally wash away coastal cities with artificial tsunamis.
The ideal theater
In fact, Khabarovsk acts as a mobile long-range patrol platform, providing stealthy removal, deployment and management of Poseidons. And it will be based in the Far East for a reason. Only the planet Earth itself is bigger than the Pacific Ocean. It's easy for an underwater vehicle with an unlimited power reserve to get lost in its depths, and there are many potential targets around.
Exercises of the Pacific Fleet and the Chinese Navy
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Vitaly Ankov
First, the Poseidons in the Pacific theater are a means of deterring Japan, which has recently been increasing its military power and increasingly challenging Russian sovereignty over the Kuril Islands. If there are weapons somewhere in the water area that can cause a tsunami in the Land of the Rising Sun, which has never been seen there before, Tokyo will become much more careful in choosing diplomatic formulations.
Secondly, the US naval bases in the Pacific Ocean, the coastal infrastructure on the west coast of the country, and all American naval formations in the region will be within reach of the Poseidons. The power of the Poseidon thermonuclear warhead is enough to destroy or at least disable a full-fledged aircraft carrier strike group.
Finally, such a powerful means of strategic deterrence in the Pacific Ocean will force a potential adversary to seek means of counteraction, diverting time and resources to this end. For example, from the European direction, where Russia today almost single-handedly opposes the entire NATO bloc. In the Pacific Ocean, we have an advantage due to geography, the length of the coastline and the presence of friendly neighbors — China and the DPRK.
The commissioning of the Khabarovsk submarine with the Poseidon complex will seriously strengthen Russia's nuclear shield, guaranteeing a retaliatory strike in the event of the outbreak of World War III. And the West has nothing to fend off this blow yet.
