Russia just showed off a potentially world-ending nuclear 'doomsday' torpedo that the US can't stop
- Russia's ministry of defense released a video of one of its most inhumane and fearsome nuclear weapons ever created - and it's purpose-built to avoid US defenses.
- The weapon, a high-speed nuclear powered torpedo isn't like other nuclear weapons.
- It's designed to create a lasting cloud of nuclear fallout that could render thousands of miles of territory unlivable for decades.
- But Russia may be bluffing about how far along the weapon actually is, a close viewing of the video shows.
Russia's ministry of defense released a video of one of its most inhumane and fearsome nuclear weapons ever created just days after President Vladimir Putin met with President Donald Trump - and it's purpose-built to avoid US defenses.
The weapon, a high-speed nuclear powered torpedo isn't like other nuclear weapons. While any time an atom is split there's a risk of radioactivity, nuclear weapons typically use nuclear detonations to create heat and pressure, with lingering radioactivity as a dangerous side effect.
But Russia's nuclear torpedo uses radioactive waste to deter, scare, and potentially punish enemies for decades to come.
"Nuclear weapons only generate significant amounts of radioactive fallout when they are detonated at, near, or beneath ground level," Stephen Schwartz, author of "Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of US Nuclear Weapons Since 1940," told Business Insider.
These types of nuclear explosions "suck up dirt, or water, contaminates it with debris from the bomb, and then lofts it into the atmosphere," leaving deadly radioactive fallout strewn across potentially thousands of miles, Schwartz said. What's more, the bomb is rumored to have its nuclear core coated in a metal that would make the fall out last for half a century.
"It's an insane weapon in the sense that it's probably as indiscriminate and lethal as you can make a nuclear weapon," Hans Kristensen, the Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists told Business Insider.
Russia hasn't specified how big the nuclear warhead is, but Kristensen said reports indicate it's "anything from a normal yield to up to 100 megatons," making it potentially one of the biggest bombs ever built.
Russia has advertised a simple mission for the torpedo: "Going in and blowing up a harbor with the purpose of blanketing a coastal area with radiation to make it uninhabitable" in a "blatant violation on the international laws of war which require them to avoid collateral damage," said Kristensen.
What the video shows us
Russia, which first leaked images of the weapon in 2015, released the video of the torpedo, called "Poseidon" along with several other updates on new weapons programs. Putin announced all of the weapons in a March 1 speech where he explained that they'd been designed to defeat all existing US defenses.
The video of the Poseidon shows its stern suspended in a factory with engineers standing by. Lines across its hull indicate where its various components and chambers separate and indicate a large space for a warhead.
Analysis from H.I. Sutton shows that Russia augmented a test submarine to carry the Poseidon as far back as 2010, indicating a long testing period.
But Russia traffics in military propaganda frequently, and may be bluffing on how far along its weapons are. The torpedo is only shown in a lab setting and then the video cuts to a computer generated simulation. The actual weapon only shows its ability to steer in water, and doesn't even show it can propel itself.
Additionally, the video demonstrates a new, only slightly less dangerous use for the weapon: Targeting US aircraft carriers and their strike groups. As it stands, the US doesn't have a way to defend against fast moving torpedoes like the Poseidon.
Take a look at the video below to get a look at Russia's underwater doomsday device: