Putin Boasts ‘Huge Success’ in Poseidon Nuclear Drone Test as Trump Warns: “End the War, Not Test Missiles”
Key Facts
- Russia tests its Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drone, which Putin calls “a tremendous success.”
- The weapon can reportedly travel 6,200 miles underwater and deliver a 2-megaton nuclear payload.
- Putin also confirms progress on the Burevestnik nuclear cruise missile, claiming “unlimited range.”
- The tests come as the New START arms treaty nears expiration in 2026.
by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “tremendous success” in testing the Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drone, hailing it as a revolutionary leap in Russia’s strategic weapons program. The test marks the first full launch from a submarine with its onboard nuclear reactor activated — a step Putin said no other nation has achieved.
“For the first time, we managed not only to launch it with a launch engine from a carrier submarine, but also to launch the nuclear power unit on which this device passed a certain amount of time,” Putin said Wednesday. “There is nothing like this.”
He added that the Poseidon’s destructive capability “significantly exceeds the power of even our most promising Sarmat intercontinental-range missile,” also known as the SATAN II.
According to Russian state media, the Poseidon test took place on Oct. 28 while Putin was visiting wounded soldiers in a Moscow military hospital. Western officials have not independently verified the launch.
A New Kind of Doomsday Weapon
The Poseidon–known to NATO as “Status-6” or “Kanyon”–is a massive nuclear-powered torpedo measuring over 65 feet long and weighing about 100 tons. Its compact nuclear reactor reportedly allows it to travel up to 6,200 miles underwater at speeds as high as 100 knots (115 mph), far faster than conventional submarines or torpedoes.
Russian analysts claim Poseidon can lurk on the ocean floor for months before activation and carry a warhead of up to 2 megatons–over 100 times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb. Some reports suggest it could generate radioactive tidal waves capable of destroying entire coastal cities or naval bases.
Parallel Test: The Burevestnik Missile
Putin’s remarks follow another recent Russian weapons test–the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile–which Moscow says can fly indefinitely and evade all known missile defenses. Russia claims the missile flew more than 8,700 miles in its latest test on Oct. 21.
The Kremlin insists both systems are part of a defensive modernization effort, but Western analysts see them as symbolic provocations amid growing nuclear tensions.
Trump: “We’re Not Playing Games With Them Either”
Responding to Russia’s weapons demonstrations, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Oct. 27 that Putin “should end the war in Ukraine, not test missiles.”
“We have a nuclear submarine right off their coast–it doesn’t have to go 8,000 miles,” Trump said. “We’re not playing games with them either.”
He added that instead of unveiling new weapons, Putin “ought to get the war ended–a war that should have taken one week is now in its fourth year.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said the Burevestnik test “should not further strain relations” between Moscow and Washington, claiming that relations were “already at a minimum.”
Escalation in Ukraine
As Russia touts its nuclear arsenal, its forces have stepped up operations in eastern Ukraine, claiming gains near the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. Putin recently boasted that Russian troops had captured nearly 5,000 square kilometers of territory since the start of the year–a claim Kyiv rejects.
The tests also come as the New START Treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms agreement between the U.S. and Russia, is set to expire on Feb. 5, 2026, raising fears that the two largest nuclear powers may soon face each other without any binding weapons limits for the first time in decades.
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