When Russia embarked on the path of introducing a completely new category of nuclear weapon, the gigantic Poseidon drone torpedo, they had to create a whole new category of submarine to carry it. In a move that harks back to the Cold War, the Russian Navy is quietly building a fleet of these submarines. The first dedicated boat, Khabarovsk, is expected to enter the water next year.
Other navies are unlikely to emulate it, but they will want to counter it. The underwater game of cat and mouse where U.S. Navy and Royal Navy hunter-killer submarines stalk the Russians could be reinvigorated. A new Cold War in the Arctic, North Atlantic and North Pacific.
Russia has managed to keep many details about the next of these special submarines, Khabarovsk, out of the public domain. Relatively little is known about this large nuclear-armed boat, certainly in comparison to Western types. So it’s launch is eagerly anticipated by defense watchers. It is being built in Construction Hall 1 at the Sevmash yard in Severodvinsk in Russia’s Arctic North. It is now expected to be floated in spring/summer 2020. We shouldn’t hold our breath though, the launch has been delayed years already.
