Preparations have begun for testing the Poseidon nuclear underwater robots from their first full-time carrier, the Belgorod nuclear submarine. Now the nuclear-powered cruiser is preparing to go to sea for the first time. Previously, a unique strategic underwater drone was tested from the B-90 Sarov diesel submarine. Experts believe that it may take several more years to complete the project of creating a complex with innovative ammunition.
Preparations have begun for testing the Poseidon nuclear underwater robots from their first full-time carrier, the Belgorod nuclear submarine. Now the nuclear-powered cruiser is preparing to go to sea for the first time. Previously, a unique strategic underwater drone was tested from the B-90 Sarov diesel submarine. Experts believe that it may take several more years to complete the project of creating a complex with innovative ammunition.
Final tests
Earlier, the head of the Defense Department, Sergei Shoigu, announced the successful completion of the Poseidon sea test range. Mikhail Budnichenko, General Director of the Sevmash production association, also told reporters about the tests of the Belgorod submarine in early January. Prior to the commissioning of specialized submarines-carriers of new weapons, "Poseidons" were tested from the experimental submarine B-90 "Sarov". Since 2008, it has conducted launches of mock-ups, and then prototypes of a nuclear robot.
In January AT the "Sevmash" prepared a few notifications (available to "Izvestia») on the conclusion of a contract for the installation of test equipment for the Poseidons at the Belgorod nuclear submarine under construction. The exact name of the equipment is not disclosed. The notices also indicate other work — including the completion of the installation of the ship's security system and the fight for survivability. According to the dates indicated in the documents, it will take up to five more years to complete the development of a complex of submarines and nuclear drones.
"There are quite a few stages to be completed during the tests of the Belgorod," the former commander of the submarine, Captain 1st rank Igor Kurdin, told Izvestia. - The performance of the boat in various modes and the speed of the power plant will be checked. The final stage will be practical torpedo firing, including the launch of the Poseidon . It is difficult to say how long it will take. If this was a production boat, then we could make some assumptions. But for such a unique ship, the tests can take quite a long time.
The expert noted that initially "Belgorod" was laid under the project 949A "Antey". Such boats were built from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, and today many of them, having undergone modernization and received new weapons, remain in service.
— These ships were immediately built with a large modernization reserve-explained Igor Kurdin. - So, the weapon shafts were made of a larger diameter than the ammunition that was then used. Their robust housing will last a long time, a nuclear power plant requires only the replacement of the core, but radio electronics and everything else can be changed to a new one. Therefore, the boats of this project, even built 30 years ago, remain in service and go to combat service.
Nuclear Heart
"Poseidon" is one of the new models of deterrence weapons presented in 2018 by Vladimir Putin in his address to the Federal Assembly. They are designed to deliver a guaranteed retaliatory strike even in the event of a surprise attack on Russia using weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
The heart of the new project was an innovative small-sized reactor. Details of its device are not disclosed. According to the president, the nuclear power plant is a hundred times smaller in volume than the submarine engines, and at the same time exceeds them in power.
Resembling a large torpedo, the robotic vehicle has an unlimited range thanks to its compact nuclear engine. It is capable of diving up to one kilometer deep. The dimensions allow you to install on it a powerful warhead equivalent to several megatons of TNT. This is enough to cause unacceptable damage to the coastal infrastructure of any potential enemy, as well as the destruction of aircraft carrier strike groups. The possibility of installing conventional combat units with explosives on drones was also stated.
The Ministry of Defense showed several videos of Poseidon tests with launches from an underwater platform and an experimental Sarov submarine. But the beginning of tests from specialized carriers has not yet been reported. According to various sources, each of them will carry from four to six mine installations for nuclear robots.
Carrier "Of Poseidon»
Belgorod should enter service shortly before its 30th anniversary. Construction of the" killer aircraft carriers "project 949A" Antey " began in 1992. But soon the work, as on many other unfinished ships of the Soviet era, was frozen. The boat was mothballed. Her future fate remained uncertain for many years. Two similar submarines, the construction of which was at a lower stage of readiness, were dismantled on the slipways.
In 2006, the then head of the military department, Sergei Ivanov, said that the Ministry of Defense did not need the Belgorod submarine. The possibility of re-equipping it for another customer was considered, but the idea was never implemented.
Interest in the unfinished submarine returned with the start of the project to create the "Poseidons". In 2009, the development of the submarine modernization project started, and three years later, the commander-in-chief of the Navy announced that the Belgorod would still be completed, but in a special version to solve special tasks. In 2012, the submarine was re-laid at the factory and a large-scale reconstruction of its hull began. Instead of compartments for cruise missiles, launchers for new weapons were installed. The project number was changed from 949A to 09852.
In April 2019, the boat was taken out of the boathouse in Severodvinsk. President Vladimir Putin watched her launch via a teleconference. Tests of the submarine afloat, completion and testing of its nuclear reactor began. The tests are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense reported that the crew for the first carrier has already been formed and has begun the practical development of the boat and its weapons.
