Russian military is testing a robotic underwater monitoring system in the Black Sea

By Boyko Nikolov On Jul 25, 2020

MOSCOW, (BM) – The Russian military is conducting an experiment on the rapid deployment of an underwater monitoring system in the Black Sea, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing the Russian Defense Ministry statement.

Read more: The Russian Underwater Drone “Poseidon” Completed The Key Stage of Trials

“A military-technical experiment to test an underwater situation monitoring system using a variety of robotic systems is being carried out in the Black Sea by specialists from the Russian Defense Ministry, enterprises of the military-industrial complex and scientists from the Era military innovative technopolis,” the statement says.


In the course of the study, the military, together with developers, will use various robotic systems and sonar systems to determine the most promising.

The developers rely on small-sized hydroacoustic equipment, since it can be placed and put into action many times faster than the existing systems.

It is noted that the proposed underwater robots are not inferior to foreign counterparts in their technical characteristics. The new system will have to multiply the effectiveness of responding to threats from sea areas.

The experiment should also show how well the new underwater robots will be able to recognize not only large objects, but also small-sized robotic systems of the enemy.

Underwater drones

Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov and Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov examined the new underwater drones for observation and filming in the technopolis.


Read more: Russia’s Underwater Drone “Poseidon” Will Reach Speeds of Over 200 km/h

One of such underwater systems was developed by the NPO Aurora concern. As the chief designer of the concern, Yuri Rozhkov, told reporters, the complex consists of two autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles (AUV).

One of them is a search one, using side-scan sonar or multi-beam echo sounder, it can find targets in the sea area and on the bottom. The second is an inspection one, equipped with a photo and video system.

He approaches the detected objects and identifies them finally. The devices have the ability to transmit the coordinates of the found objects to a ground or ship control post.

“The main assets are side-scan sonar. There is also a photo and video surveillance system, radio communication, a hydroacoustic positioning system <…> They can determine and transmit the coordinates of target objects,” Rozhkov said.

According to him, the system of two devices is universal, it can be launched from any vessel. The devices are compact and not heavy: two people are enough to send them from the unequipped shore.


A Russian submarine can carry six Poseidon strategic torpedoes

The US Forbes magazine reported on June 7 that the nuclear submarine Khabarovsk of project 09851 is the most secret in the Russian fleet and is able to carry six strategic Poseidon torpedoes.

Read more: Russia Has a Thermonuclear Torpedo That Could Start World War III

The publication notes that there is very little public information regarding this submarine. It is also known that the submarine will be able to carry six Poseidon nuclear torpedoes.

“It could be the defining submarine of 2020,” the article says, and also notes that the submarine should be launched this month.

In addition, the magazine separately identifies the Belgorod submarine of project 09852, the longest submarine in the history of mankind, which also carries the Poseidon strategic weapon.


The material notes that Belgorod will serve as a ship for the deep-sea nuclear submarine Losharik, capable of diving to a depth of 6 thousand meters. The author of the article fears that in this way Russia will be able to connect to cables running along the ocean floor.

According to the analyst, Poseidon is unique. This weapon is an intercontinental autonomous torpedo.

“It is twice as large as a typical ballistic missile, has an almost unlimited range and is armed with a nuclear warhead,” the author states.

Earlier, military analyst Alexander Mikhailov said that Poseidon submarines are capable of “nullifying” the coastal defense of any enemy, including the United States.

In turn, analyst Jacob Kedmi noted that Poseidon is capable of destroying New York, and the tsunami or earthquakes caused by it will cause even greater damage to the target.

Read more: Russian submarine capable of destroying New York is the most secret project, US said


The Russian torpedo Poseidon is capable of starting a third world war. Here’s what it really is.

The Poseidon is an 80-foot-long nuclear-powered submersible robot that is essentially an underwater ICBM. It is designed to travel autonomously across thousands of miles, detonate outside an enemy coastal city, and destroy it by generating a tsunami.

“In the sea area protected from a potential enemy’s reconnaissance means, the underwater trials of the nuclear propulsion unit of the Poseidon drone are underway,” an unnamed Russian defense official told the TASS news agency.

The source also said the “the reactor is installed in the hull of the operating drone but the tests are being held as part of experimental design work rather than full-fledged sea trials at this stage.”

TASS reported last year that Poseidon will be armed with a 2-megaton warhead. That’s more than enough to destroy a city. But that leaves the question of why Russia would choose to nuke an American city with an underwater drone – even one that allegedly travels 100 miles an hour – when an ICBM can do the job in 30 minutes.

Russia suggests the Poseidon is a retaliatory weapon that would revenge a U.S. first strike even if American missile defenses were capable of stopping hundreds of Russian ICBMs.


But even in the unlikely event that the U.S. could intercept 500 or more Russian ballistic missiles, a delivery system that could take days or weeks to reach its target seems hardly an efficient deterrent.

Read more: An accidentally taken photo unveils Russia’s secret weapon called “the Judgment Day”

More intriguing is the suggestion that Poseidon could be used against U.S. aircraft carriers. A very fast, nuclear-armed drone could prove difficult for American anti-submarine defenses to stop.

In a March 2018 speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin described his nation as being able to “move at great depths — I would say extreme depths — intercontinentally, at a speed multiple times higher than the speed of submarines, cutting-edge torpedoes and all kinds of surface vessels, including some of the fastest. It is really fantastic. They are quiet, highly maneuverable and have hardly any vulnerabilities for the enemy to exploit. There is simply nothing in the world capable of withstanding them.”

Putin added that Poseidon’s “nuclear power unit is unique for its small size while offering an amazing power-weight ratio. It is a hundred times smaller than the units that power modern submarines, but is still more powerful and can switch into combat mode, that is to say, reach maximum capacity, 200 times faster.”

Let’s also leave aside the question of why, if Russia really is that advanced in reactor design, its regular nuclear submarines aren’t so blessed. The puzzle is why a giant robot submarine would be needed to detonate a nuclear warhead near a U.S. aircraft carrier (presumably Poseidon is too expensive to waste by arming it with a mere high-explosive warhead).


If the goal is to sink a U.S. carrier, couldn’t Russia saturate a carrier’s defenses with a volley of conventionally-armed hypersonic missiles like the Mach 5-plus Khinzal? And if nukes are being used, Russia has no shortage of missiles, bombs and aircraft to target American ships.

Read more: Forbes: Russian nuclear submarine drones change the rules of the game

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BulgarianMilitary.com
Editorial team