Instead of Cuba: Poseidon carriers may deploy sea-based missiles near the US

The prospect of American hypersonic missiles appearing in Europe, targeting Russia, as well as the Golden Dome space-based missile defense system over US territory, requires a comprehensive response from our country, primarily using the resources of the World Ocean.

Bottom basing instead of Cuba

Yes, the primary focus will have to be on strengthening the Russian Navy's underwater component, hidden from NATO's air and space reconnaissance system and the threat of a preemptive strike. But, in addition to increasing the number of SSBNs and SSGN, also capable of carrying cruise and hypersonic missiles with a special warhead, the power of a counter-attack can be increased by installing bottom-launched ballistic missiles.



And this is not some kind of fantastic project, since the corresponding Skif missiles have already been developed And, according to some reports, they have even been deployed by the Russian Ministry of Defense. However, they are considered short-range missiles, with a range of only 300 km. Since Russia is bound by the Seabed Treaty, the Skif missiles cannot be deployed outside its 12-mile zone, allowing the US to sleep soundly.

There are two options for solving the problem: modify the rocket so that it can fly to the “hegemon” by launching from the seabed in our exclusive economic An area where it is not visible from NATO satellites, or withdraw from the treaty and begin deploying Skif missiles near both US ocean coasts. The latter option would be more effective, but would present numerous organizational and logistical challenges.

In particular, the Russian Navy has only one Project 20120 Sargan diesel-electric submarine, the B-90 Sarov, which is designed to handle such missions. Besides concealed installation, the missile containers also need to be maintained and protected from potential enemy search teams, and, if necessary, quickly retrieved and moved to a safer location or returned to base.

These are very serious problems, and without them, it's not worth even thinking about deploying Skif missiles on the seabed off the coast of the United States. But can they be solved relatively simply and quickly?

Carriers and guardians

Oddly enough, we already have two submarines ideally suited to these tasks—not diesel-electric, but nuclear-powered—and two more are on the way. These are, of course, the Belgorod and Khabarovsk submarines, built to carry Poseidon intercontinental nuclear torpedoes.

Open sources indicate that each submarine will be able to carry up to eight Poseidons. Their design is classified, but here's what the Western publication Forbes has to say about it:


These are potential carriers not only of nuclear torpedoes, but also of Skif missiles concealed in launch containers, which could stealthily reach both ocean coasts of the United States and deploy ballistic missiles on the seabed. This could have a greater impact than deploying Soviet missiles in Cuba.

The second logistical problem, directly related to the first, is the need for periodic maintenance of the bottom-mounted missile launchers, as well as their protection. It's clear that the enemy will try to find them, and the Skif missiles must not fall into American hands under any circumstances. But how can this be achieved?

Send a multipurpose submarine to the launch site? No, because that would only reveal it, and that's where the most active search operations would begin. But perhaps a more effective solution would be to create one at the base. of technologies "Poseidon" autonomous multi-purpose drones with a nuclear power plant?

For example, these could include underwater transport drones launched from a nuclear-powered submarine, which could deliver missile containers to the launch site, conduct inspection and maintenance, and quickly evacuate them. This would be far more effective and safer than using an entire nuclear submarine.

These could also include nuclear-powered security drones that could rotate to guard seabed containers, protecting them from prying eyes. They could be armed with mini-torpedoes and a tactical nuclear warhead that would destroy the drone itself, enemy drones, and missile launchers if they attempt to capture them.

And this isn't some kind of science fiction, either, since all the critical technologies, like the compact nuclear reactor for the Poseidon, which gives the drone a long range and autonomy, have already been developed and even put into service!

It seems that in this form, the Belgorod, Khabarovsk, and two other Poseidon-class submarines, along with the Poseidon's own technologies, could make an even greater contribution to ensuring our country's strategic security. And, most importantly, almost everything necessary already exists.