Russia tests nuclear-powered Poseidon torpedo, Putin says
Russia has tested its nuclear-powered Poseidon underwater torpedo, President Vladimir Putin said, marking the country’s second strategic weapons trial in less than a week and prompting renewed debate over a potential new phase in nuclear deterrence.
Speaking during a hospital visit with soldiers wounded in Ukraine, Putin said the device was launched from a submarine and that its onboard nuclear power unit had been successfully activated. It was his most detailed public description of the programme in several years. He claimed the system could not be intercepted by existing technology.
“For the first time, we managed not only to launch it from its carrier submarine using the starting engine, but also to activate its nuclear power plant, on which the vehicle operated for a certain period of time,” Putin said, as quoted by the Kremlin.
“This is a major success because, like the Burevestnik, it has very compact dimensions. If the Burevestnik’s reactor is a thousand times smaller than that of a submarine, Poseidon’s is a hundred times smaller. Yet Poseidon’s power output significantly exceeds even that of our most advanced intercontinental missile, the Sarmat.”
The test follows Russia’s trial of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile on October 21 and nuclear launch drills on October 22. The Kremlin described these actions as proof that Moscow would not yield to Western pressure over the war in Ukraine. The White House urged Russia to focus on ending the conflict rather than showcasing new weapons.
According to Reuters, analysts describe Poseidon as an autonomous, nuclear-powered torpedo designed to travel thousands of kilometres at high speed to strike coastal targets and contaminate shorelines. Open-source assessments cited by Russian media indicate the system is about 20 metres long, weighs roughly 100 tonnes and could carry a warhead of up to two megatons, possibly using a liquid-metal-cooled reactor. Putin and state media have previously outlined operational parameters suggesting a range of 10,000 km at around 185 km/h.
Poseidon challenges traditional arms-control categories by combining a nuclear propulsion system with an autonomous delivery mechanism that is neither a ballistic nor a cruise missile. Moscow presents such projects as a response to decades of United States missile-defence developments and Nato’s eastward expansion.
The announcement appeared aimed at both domestic and international audiences: at home, to demonstrate technological progress despite sanctions, and abroad, to signal that Russia retains advanced nuclear capabilities even as its conventional war in Ukraine continues.
US will resume testing nuclear weapons for first time in 30 years, Trump says
Trump said changes were necessary because other countries were testing their weapons. Russia has claimed it has recently conducted multiple nuclear arms tests.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the US will resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in three decades, saying it would be on an “equal basis” with Russia and China.
"Now is the appropriate time," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Washington shortly after a meeting with China's president Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Trump first announced it on social media ahead of his meeting with Xi, stressing that "it had to do with others."
“Because of other countries' testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis,” he said in a post on Truth Social. “That process will begin immediately.”
The White House did not immediately respond to questions seeking more details, nor did Pentagon officials offer immediate clarity about Trump's announcement on the nuclear missile tests.
Is the nuclear arms race back?
Trump's astonishing announcement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin this week announced that Moscow tested a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone and a new nuclear-powered cruise missile.
Putin did not announce any tests of Russia’s nuclear weapons, the last test of which occurred in 1990.
Also, ahead of the US leader's trip to South Korea, the final leg of his Asian tour, North Korea announced missile testing of what it claimed to be a 'sea-to-surface' missile weapon.
Last week, Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong-un unveiled some of his military's newest weapons, including what appeared to be a short-range ballistic system fitted with hypersonic glide vehicles.
While Trump did not specifically mention any of these in his post, including Russian tests, the US leader alluded to the nuclear stockpiles controlled by both Xi and Putin, saying, “Russia is second, and China is a distant third but will be even within 5 years.”
In 2023, Putin signed a bill revoking Russia’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban, which Moscow said was needed to put Russia on par with the US.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, signed by then US President Bill Clinton but never ratified by the Senate, was adopted in 1996 and prohibits all nuclear explosions worldwide.
In 2023 Russia said it would only resume tests of its nuclear weapons if Washington did it first.
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