Pentagon Confirms Secret Nuclear Weapon Russians Are Deploying Underwater
Drones are changing the shape of warfare — and they might be changing national nuclear strategy at the same time.
Unmanned vehicles that were once seen as science fiction are already so commonplace that they’re barely noticed anymore. Almost everyone has seen a flying drone, but while the air is becoming filled with them, unmanned craft are becoming a new threat on another front: under the sea.
Russia is working on a long-range underwater drone that can be armed with a nuclear warhead, according to an unclassified Department of Defense memo that has been obtained by several news agencies.
It seems like something from a Tom Clancy novel, but the future is now. The development could completely change how nations prepare for and fight global wars.
“The autonomous torpedo is among an array of new strategic weapons being developed by Moscow as part of a nuclear modernization underway over the past decade,” explained The Washington Free Beacon.
“Russia is also developing at least two new intercontinental range systems, a hypersonic glide vehicle, and a new intercontinental, nuclear-armed, undersea autonomous torpedo,” stated the Pentagon report, which was dated January 2018.
The unclassified document is part of a Nuclear Posture Review ordered by President Donald Trump. It essentially outlines the status of America’s nuclear defense readiness.
Autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, are not particularly new, but are usually fairly small and used for short-range tasks like scientific studies or pipeline inspection. A nuclear-armed underwater vehicle could be a tidal shift in defense planning.
Alarmingly, it appears that Russia’s advancement is more than just a proposal.
“Russia revealed on state-run television a document showing the drone is known in Moscow as the Ocean Multipurpose System Status-6 and is being developed by the TsKB MT Rubin design bureau that built all current submarines in service with the Russian navy,” explained the Free Beacon.
Relations between the United States and Russia are fairly stable for the time being, but nothing is guaranteed.
If hostilities ever increased and a war scenario emerged, U.S. ports would likely be the ideal target for these deadly underwater robots.
“Defense officials have revealed that the drone submarine, code-named Kanyon by the Pentagon, will carry a very large nuclear warhead up to 100 megatons that will be capable of destroying entire port cities or harbors.”
“The Russians likely would use the nuclear drone torpedoes in a nuclear conflict for targeting the ballistic missile submarine bases at Kings Bay, Ga., and Puget Sound in Washington state,” continued the Beacon.
It is not clear exactly how the U.S. Navy intends to defend against such a threat. There’s no denying the unfortunate fact that America’s defensive arsenal is still a holdover from the Cold War era, and this is especially true with submarine strategies and undersea defense plans.
The U.S. military made it clear that they were not looking to build a similar nuclear-armed AUV, but is instead taking a more conventional approach — at least that’s what they’re saying publicly.
“The United States has no plans to build a comparable underwater nuclear torpedo. The Navy has said that developing unmanned underwater vehicles […] is a high priority for future Navy forces.”
“Development of the long-range nuclear-armed drone submarine could prompt the Navy to develop new underwater attack submarine capabilities,” said the Beacon.
Even in times of relative peace, the military must stay on the cutting edge in order to remain strong. If America is not careful, it could fall behind in terms of capability… and that could be disastrous for global stability.
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