'We have seen an ever-increasing number of Russian submarines deployed in the Atlantic, and these submarines are more capable. Like so many aspects of the Russian Navy submarine fleet, we are kept guessing. Putin Expands Russias Nuclear Submarine Fleet as NATO Sounds Alarm. But that is not to say it couldn’t be done. Putin controls about 5,977 such warheads as of 2022, compared with 5,428. If so (and it seems likely), then it could involve major renovations. Russia, which inherited the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons, has the world’s biggest stockpile of nuclear warheads. Possibly some modernization work would be required if not all of the missile tubes are currently active. So whether or not Dmitry Donskoy currently carries part of Russia’s nuclear deterrent, it seems that it could if called upon.
The launch of the second Poseidon-capable submarineProject 09851 Khabarovskwas expected to take place in the autumn of 2021, but appears to have been delayed until 2022 (TASS 2021g). And it has been observed at a weapons pier specially designed for loading and unloading nuclear missiles. Belgorod will become Russia’s largest submarine and reportedly will be capable of carrying up to six Poseidon torpedoes (TASS 2019d). It frequently joins other Russian Navy vessels on exercises. Under this all of the tubes have to be counted even if not used.Įven if it only has one missile tube ready there is no denying that the giant submarine is still active. The difference to the Russian Ministry of Defense information may reflect their status under New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty). But there have been persistent rumors that only one or two tubes were upgraded to allow it to act as a test bed.
Officially, per the Russian Ministry of Defense website ( in Russian), it has a capability for 20 of the missiles.
0 kommentar(er)
