Putin views launch of new submarine to carry nuclear drones
![Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of guardian council of the Russian Geographic Society in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Putin said the government will pursue an ambitious navy modernization effort. (Alexei Druzhinin / AP)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/uO6q6eDqVn9RLDznlEJuDvMVKgE=/600x0/media.spokesman.com/graphics/2018/07/sr-loader.png)
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has watched the launch of a new submarine intended to carry prospective underwater nuclear drones – a doomsday weapon capable of causing a devastating tsunami.
During Tuesday’s visit to a military shipyard in St. Petersburg, Putin viewed the departure of the Belgorod nuclear submarine at the Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk in northwestern Russia via a teleconference.
The navy said the submarine designed to carry Poseidon drones is set to enter service next year.
Poseidon can target coastal areas with a heavy nuclear weapon, causing a devastating tsunami wave. Putin has said its tests have been successful.
He first mentioned the nuclear-powered drone among an array of other new weapons in a state-of-the nation address last year, saying they would render U.S. missile defense systems useless.