NATO has recently warned allies of Russia's plans to test the Poseidon "super torpedo", also dubbed "the weapon of the apocalypse," according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
The weapon is said to be able to travel large distances underwater, before exploding and causing a nuclear tsunami that could engulf coastal cities such as New York.
According to the news outlet, Russia could test the weapon soon. The nuclear-powered submarine Belgorod is reported to have left its base in the White Sea, possibly to test the torpedo in the Kara sea.
The report comes amid President Vladimir Putin's threats that Russia could use nuclear weapons if the Ukraine war escalates.
The development of the Poseidon torpedo came shortly after the relationship between Russia and the U.S. deteriorated. But NATO officials don't believe that such a weapon is ready for use.
Shashank Joshi, defence editor of The Economist, said on Twitter that Poseidon is a Russian nuclear-powered torpedo that can be nuclear-armed. But what was being discussed in the Italian newspaper report was a possible test of the torpedo and "NOT an explosive nuclear test."
"It is also worth noting that Poseidon is scheduled for delivery in 2027. It is not a weapon that is relevant to this war," he said.
Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said in an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in February that underwater trials of Poseidon began in December 2018. "The weapon is scheduled for delivery in 2027 and will be carried by specially configured submarines," he wrote.
What would a test entail, and what would it do? Experts spoke to Newsweek about what is likely to happen in a test and the destruction that Poseidon could inflict if it were ever used to cause a nuclear blast.
Doomsday Device
Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist at Greenpeace, told Newsweek that there are "several issues of concern" on the basis that a test of the torpedo is imminent.
"The assumption must be that the missile/drone would be unarmed [with no] nuclear warhead—otherwise it's a nuclear test at which point the consequences are determined by the bomb design and yield.
"It's reported that the yield is up to 100 megatons—hence the apocalypse reference," Burnie said, speaking of impact the torpedo could have if used with a nuclear warhead.
"One suggestion is that the weapon contains large amounts of cobalt 59 which on detonation becomes radioactive cobalt 60—the aim being to maximize the amount of radioactivity released and that it is long lasting. Such a weapon was built by the Soviet Union during the Cold War intended as a doomsday device to put as much radioactive cobalt into the upper atmosphere to be capable of making large parts of the planet uninhabitable."
Cobalt can pollute water, and have adverse effects on any surrounding living creatures.
A seismic shock or sound wave would also "impact marine life," he said.
Of greater concern in a test scenario would be the propulsion, which would be a small nuclear reactor, "possibly gas cooled," Burnie said.
"There are no details I am aware of in public as to the specifications of this reactor—it will generate power through radioactive fissioning presumably and therefore there will be radioactivity produced—it will be operating for a short period of time before impact, one assumes, therefore it will not be the equivalent to a commercial or even naval submarine reactor—but it will release radioactivity on impact assuming destruction of torpedo," Burnie said.
Dire Effect
Mark Foreman, associate professor in nuclear chemistry, industrial materials and recycling at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, told Newsweek that, in the event of an explosion, the torpedo would have a direct, "dire effect on the marine life near it."
"I imagine that it will kill fish and marine mammals which are kilometers away from the bomb. From what I know a subsurface nuclear detonation is more damaging to the hull of ships than one which occurs above the surface of the sea," Foreman said. "I imagine that the air filled spaces in things like whales, dolphins and fish will be damaged by the underwater blast. I would expect heat and direct radiation to be less of a problem for an underwater explosion than one which occurs in the air."
Foreman said a sub-surface blast "will do more mechanical damage than one which occurs in the air."
"Subsurface nuclear detonations tend to be very dirty, the radioactivity from the fuel in the bomb along with the radioactivity generated by bombarding sea water with neutrons will be very horrible," Foreman said. "The U.S have experience of letting off atom bombs under water. When this is done it tends to generate a spray of water which is very radioactive. If this spray lands on a surface of a ship or other thing and then dries out then it tends to be very hard to remove from the ship."
Foreman said it is difficult to know just how powerful this weapon would be but he has seen some early reports suggesting it could be as powerful as Tsar bomba—the biggest nuclear bomb detonation to date. Tsar bomba was a Soviet thermonuclear aerial bomb tested in 1961.
"I have seen other reports which suggest the bomb will only be 2 megatons, this will still be a very big explosion," Foreman said.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
