Russian President Vladimir Putin  announced that Russia had successfully tested a nuclear-powered drone submarine, claimed to be a “superweapon.” The drone, known as Poseidon, is capable of delivering a thermonuclear cobalt bomb to create a 500-meter tsunami that could contaminate a large section of coastline, making the area unlivable for up to a century. 

In 2018, we posted about a speech given by Putin, which threatened the United States with a new generation of “invincible” nuclear weapons.  One of these weapons was described as an autonomous “doomsday” drone torpedo. The unmanned underwater drone submarine, now known as Poseidon is designed to have a top speed of 100 km/h (54 kn) and a range of 10,000 km (5,400 nmi).  Russian Oscar-class submarines are said to be capable of carrying up to four of the drones secured externally.

Mr. Putin said the Poseidon test took place on Tuesday. 

“There is nothing like this in the world in terms of the speed and the depth of the movement of this unmanned vehicle — and it is unlikely there ever will be,” Putin said, adding that there were “no ways to intercept” it.

The president did not say from where the Poseidon was launched or how far it went, but he mentioned it had “traveled for a certain amount of time.”

Putin’s statement, which comes three days after he praised a successful test of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, appears to be another message to US President Donald Trump that Russia is standing firm in its maximalist demands on Ukraine.

Speaking at a meeting with soldiers wounded in Ukraine, Putin said the Poseidon drone was tested while running on nuclear power for the first time on Tuesday, describing it as unmatched in speed and depth.