This ‘doomsday weapon’ could be the game changer that Putin needs

Putin's “special military operation” in Ukraine, which was meant to last a few weeks, will turn two years in February. However, a new ‘doomsday weapon’ could be what the Kremlin needs to change the tide of the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has successfully tested the nuclear-tipped torpedo Poseidon, as Russia state news agency RIA Novosti made public on June 23.

Putin himself first made public the development of the Poseidon torpedo in 2018, claiming that Russia was making a new type of unmanned submersible far quicker than any current vessel or submarine.

TASS reported in January 2023 that the Russian military had produced a batch of nuclear-tipped Poseidon torpedoes, to be deployed by the nuclear submarine ‘Belgorod’.

The Poseidon torpedoes are nothing like we have seen before. Popular Mechanics describes that every nuclear warhead possess 100 times the power of the bombs used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Hypothetically, these nuclear warheads would be capable of forming radioactive tsunamis.

Image: Todd Turner / Unsplash

Not only that, but the torpedoes are capable of attacking enemy targets thousands of miles away, putting coastal bases and port cities in Western Europe and North America at risk.

Popular Mechanics highlights that these are the largest torpedo ever deployed, about 65 feet (ca. 20 m) long and 6.5 feet (ca. 2 m) wide, and that it virtually works as an underwater drone.

According to Reuters, the Russian government state agency TASS reported that each Poseidon torpedo has its own nuclear reactor, giving it an unlimited power source.

This means that the Poseidon can be launched from a Russian naval base, targeting virtually anywhere in the world.

Reuters comments that the idea of a missile capable to go from Russia to the coasts of the United States hails from Soviet era under Joseph Stalin.

The Poseidon torpedo has been in development since 2015, as Popular Mechanics writes, gaining a lot of attention after Putin talked about them in 2018.

Newsweek, meanwhile, highlights that the Russian news agency TASS stated that specially-purposed carrying the Poseidon torpedoes would join the Pacific Fleet by the end of 2025.

It’s no secret that the invasion of Ukraine has become a headache for the top brass in Moscow and an apparent failure for Putin, may wonder if the Poseidon Torpedo could change that.

Before the war, Putin was the unquestionable ruler of Russia. Now, turned into a pariah by the international community, he faces mounting pressure within his country, such as having PMC Wagner mercenaries marching towards Moscow.

With the war dragging on and Moscow and Kyiv trapped in a messy quagmire, Vladimir Putin needs a miracle to save face, win the war, and restore his reputation as the indisputable leader of Russia.

However, many are wondering if time is running out for Vladimir Putin and if his so-called ‘superweapon’ is too little, too late.