36,552 viewsDec 29, 2019, 07:50am
2019 Was An Important Year In Submarine Developments
H I Sutton
The world submarine scene is changing fast, and it feels as if 2019 was the start of a sharp rise in the rate of development. Perhaps because of a lull following the end of the Cold War, or because of the dawn of the next industrial revolution, things are hotting up.
From the perspective of the history books, in my view by far the most significant new submarine of 2019 was Belgorod. Russia’s latest super submarine, she was launched on April 24 in Severodvinsk. She is second only to the famous Typhoon Class in terms of size. But her significance is not in her size alone. She is expected to be the first submarine to carry Russia’s enigmatic super weapon, the Poseidon Intercontinental Nuclear-Powered Nuclear-Armed Autonomous Torpedo. A better term might be ‘mega torpedo.’ It is designed to be around 20 to 30 times the size of a regular torpedo, or twice the size of a ballistic missile, and to carry a 2 megaton nuclear warhead, able to target coastal cities such as New York or San Francisco. With essentially unlimited range and deep diving capability, if it performs as described, it will be challenging to counter.
2019 Was An Important Year In Submarine Developments
