The lessons of Kamchatka: "Poseidon" nuclear torpedo-induced tsunami will sweep Russia's enemies into the sea

Natural disasters inadvertently "promote" the development prospects of Russian underwater drones

Image: The 09852-class "Belgorod" special nuclear submarine (the first "Poseidon" nuclear torpedo carrier) during its launching ceremony at Severodvinsk Shipyard.

In the past 24 hours, 40 aftershocks have been recorded on the Kamchatka Peninsula — all subsequent tremors after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the peninsula on July 30. Klyuchevskaya volcano continued to erupt due to this natural disaster. This natural "weapon" of earthquake has shown astonishing power.

The effects of the earthquake even reached Vladivostok over 2,000 kilometers away. The city first moved 5 centimeters south and then another 5 centimeters north. Meanwhile, the Kamchatka Peninsula itself moved 2 meters southeast and sank more than 30 centimeters.

The earthquake triggered a tsunami — huge waves reached French Polynesia. Chile on the western coast of South America prepared for the tsunami. Japan and Hawaii issued tsunami warnings. After learning about the disaster in Kamchatka, the Galapagos Islands announced the evacuation of residents.

The highest tsunami near Kamchatka reached 18 meters. A local resident measured its height upon the request of scientists. It was the second highest among the seven waves. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations stated that the tsunami partially flooded the port and fish processing plant of North Kurilsk, washing ships off the docks.

Academician Arkady Tishkov of the Russian Academy of Sciences believes that, based on changes in the coastline, the consequences of the Kamchatka earthquake exceeded the disaster of Pompeii. He emphasized that this is a contemporary event of sub-regional scale. The terrifying scene captured in Karl Bryullov's famous painting pales in comparison to what happened in Kamchatka.

No wonder Russia's most fervent enemies are happy about this tragedy. "The end of Kamchatka," "Kamchatka is being destroyed" — these are fake news headlines published by Ukraine's Information Psychological Warfare Center. Russian media said: "These 'sensational' headlines, strange recordings, and pro-Ukrainian robots in chat groups are trying to spread panic."

Different from Ukraine, which is almost an inland country, its old Western partners have been more restrained, trying to hide their joy. On one hand, civilized people should not rejoice like savages (in a derogatory sense), and on the other hand, as representatives of the oceanic Atlantic civilization, they understand the power of destructive floods.

Westerners must still remember the idea of Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov: he proposed deploying 100 megatons of thermonuclear bombs underwater along the tectonic fracture zones off the U.S. coast. The "Tsar Bomba," tested by the Soviet Union on Novaya Zemlya, was of this type, and its explosion wave circled the Earth three times.

An underwater detonation of a nuclear bomb would trigger earthquakes and massive tsunamis, completely destroying the coastal infrastructure of the enemy, including ports. Theoretically, this war could be won from the very beginning. Earlier, there had also been a project for the T-15 giant torpedoes equipped with nuclear warheads.

Later, people gave up the idea of drowning the enemy in seawater, partly because the project had a genocidal nature. There were rumors that a naval rear admiral who discussed the project with Sakharov was deeply shocked and said that naval officers were used to fighting armed enemies on open battlefields.

Perhaps this "purity" (not only among military personnel but also among politicians) led to the vast Soviet military machine — originally prepared for open warfare with the West — ultimately disintegrating without firing a single shot, failing to save the country. Perhaps it should have "fought hard" back then? Let the whole world tremble...

Now, Russia faces a similar dilemma. Vladimir Putin once lamented, "What meaning does the world have without Russia?" Obviously, he meant our military capabilities. As the special military operation against NATO enters its fourth year, the arguments supporting this view are becoming increasingly solid.

In 2018, when the Russian President delivered his state-of-the-nation address to the Federal Assembly, he presented four new weapons: the "Zircon" hypersonic glide vehicle, the "Ovod" nuclear-powered cruise missile, the "Peresvet" laser weapon, and the "Poseidon" nuclear-powered underwater drone.

Although maritime combat operations under the framework of the special military operation have been ongoing in the Black Sea, and our Black Sea Fleet has been forced to avoid enemy unmanned vessels, hiding in Novorossiysk, Feodosiya, and the Okhchycha in Abkhazia, the "Poseidon" has never had the opportunity to be tested in real combat.

The reason is that the power of "Poseidon" is too great, and it actually belongs to strategic-level weapons. Using it to deal with minor skirmishes is impractical, like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito. After all, although Kyiv successfully attacked our ships, it has no fleet capable of matching our nuclear-powered drones, only one "Moscow" ship (note: there may be an error in the original text; the "Moscow" is a cruiser, which sank in 2022).

Image: Schematic diagram of the application of the "Poseidon" Ocean Multi-purpose System. It is a new kind of underwater weapon based on underwater drones, capable of counteracting enemy aircraft carriers and striking coastal targets across intercontinental ranges.

Does this mean that we should find other more suitable targets for the "Poseidon"? Not in Ukraine, but in those countries that support Kyiv openly or secretly with weapons, funds, etc. The first ones to come to mind are the maritime countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, and also Germany and France, which have coastlines.

Image: "Poseidon" Ocean Multi-purpose System.

The threat posed by the "Poseidon" to the coastal enemy countries of the West may cool down their enthusiasm and dissuade them from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. Multiple super-strong explosions occurring somewhere in the English Channel will cause huge tsunamis, possibly even triggering earthquakes. Half of London will be submerged by the Atlantic Ocean, Calais and Dunkirk will sink beneath the sea...

Incidentally, this aligns with the geopolitical philosophy of philosopher and geopolitician Alexander Dugin — the eternal struggle between land civilization (Russia) and ocean civilization (the West). This Russian "Kremlin advisor" inherited the ideas of Halford Mackinder, considering it to be the confrontation between Rome and Carthage.

Moreover, Vladimir Putin seems to agree with this. Otherwise, how to explain the president's recent visit to Severodvinsk? It was at the Severodvinsk Shipyard where the "Khabarovsk" special nuclear submarine is currently being rebuilt — it may become a carrier for the "Poseidon." Another submarine of the same type, the "Belgorod," is already ready and has sailed into the depths of the world's oceans.

TASS previously reported: "Two 'Poseidon' carriers will be added to the combat formations of the Northern Fleet and the Pacific Fleet." Each submarine can carry up to eight nuclear-powered drones. Thus, the total number of "Poseidon" in combat readiness can reach 32. Will this be enough to sweep Russia's enemies into the Atlantic and Pacific?

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7536857124945642022/

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