A top-of-the-line Russian nuclear-powered submarine has gone missing from its harbor in the arctic along with its rumored “doomsday weapon,” according to multiple reports.
NATO has reportedly warned members that Russia’s Belgorod submarine no longer appeared to be operating out of its White Sea base, where it has been active since July. Officials warned that Russia may plan to test Belgorod’s “Poseidon” weapons system, a drone equipped with a nuclear bomb that Russia has claimed is capable of creating a “radioactive tsunami,” according to Italian media.
The drone can be deployed from the submarine at any time and detonated at a depth of 1 kilometer near a coastal city. Russian state media has claimed the device can create a 1,600 ft. wave that smashes into the coast and irradiates it.
The 600-ft. submarine was delivered to the Russian Navy in July as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top-secret program that aims to develop and operate a series of a new class of “super weapons.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin (2R), Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and Chief Commander of the Russia Fleet Nikolai Yevmenov (R) seen aboard of the boat during the Navy Day Parade. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
(Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
A Russian nuclear submarine, Yuri Dolgoruky, is seen during sea trials near Arkhangelsk, Russia. The submarine was commissioned by the Russian Navy on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, pool, file)
(The Associated Press)
Strategic intelligence expert and author of “Putin’s Playbook” Rebekah Koffler warned that Russia’s use of such a weapon would only come as a last resort “in the event that Russia and the US are in a direct kinetic war and Russia is losing.”
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Koffler says the device is likely not to be operational until 2027, but Putin may be testing it as a means to intimidate both Ukraine its NATO allies in the West. Putin has warned that Russia’s potential use of nuclear weapons is “not a bluff.”
Belgorod’s location remains publicly unknown as of Monday, a situation that is not particularly surprising to Koffler. She says Russian submarines have some of the best stealth capabilities in the world and have even entered U.S. waters undetected in the past.
A dog is seen in the middle of a street as Ukrainian army soldiers take part of a military sweep to search for possible remnants of Russian troops after their withdrawal from villages in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, April 1, 2022.
(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
“There have been times when Russian nuclear-powered attack submarines, armed with long-range cruise missiles, operated undetected for weeks close to U.S. shores,” Koffler told Fox News Digital.
One incident in the early 2010s saw a submarine get detected only when it was leaving U.S. waters.
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“My colleagues from the Office of Naval Intelligence got a serious dressing down by a 4-star general” following the event, Koffler said.
