Russia launches new nuclear submarine carrier of doomsday drone

Russia has unveiled its newest nuclear-powered titan — the Khabarovsk, a state-of-the-art submarine built to carry the feared Poseidon nuclear drone, ominously dubbed the “doomsday missile” for its apocalyptic strike potential.

At a solemn ceremony in the icy northern port of Severodvinsk, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov formally launched the massive vessel from the storied Sevmash shipyards — the same facility that once refitted India’s INS Vikramaditya. Flanked by Naval Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev and top shipbuilding officials, Belousov hailed the Khabarovsk as “a symbol of Russia’s technological prowess and maritime might.”

“Today marks a historic moment — the launch of the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Khabarovsk,” he declared in a televised address. “This vessel, equipped with cutting-edge underwater weapons and robotic systems, will fortify the security of our maritime borders and defend our national interests across the world’s oceans.”

Designed by the famed Rubin Central Design Bureau, the Khabarovsk represents the next evolution in Russia’s undersea warfare capability. The submarine is believed to be the principal carrier for the Poseidon — a nuclear-powered, unmanned underwater drone capable of traversing vast intercontinental distances at extraordinary depths and speeds beyond that of any submarine or torpedo in existence.

Just days earlier, President Vladimir Putin had announced a successful test of the Poseidon, boasting that its compact nuclear propulsion system was “100 times smaller than the reactor of a strategic submarine.” Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev went a step further, calling the weapon “a true doomsday missile.”

The Poseidon, according to Russian officials and reports in Kommersant daily, is designed to unleash catastrophic nuclear tsunamis capable of obliterating coastal cities and rendering entire regions uninhabitable — a chilling deterrent in Moscow’s growing strategic arsenal.

As the Khabarovsk slides into the frigid White Sea waters, it stands as a stark emblem of Russia’s resurgent military ambition — and a grim reminder of the escalating arms race beneath the world’s oceans.

With PTI inputs