Putin says Russia successfully tested nuclear-propelled Poseidon drones

MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday that nuclear-propelled Poseidon drones had been successfully tested this week.

Speaking at a meeting with wounded soldiers in Moscow's Mandryka Hospital, Putin said that "for the first time, it was possible to launch a nuclear power engine" for the underwater torpedo drone system.

"It's a huge success," he said.

Putin added that the device is impossible to intercept and that "in terms of speed and depth, it has no analogues in the world."

"There is nothing like this in terms of speed and depth of movement of this unmanned vehicle in the world, and there are unlikely to be any interception methods in the near future," he said.

He also asserted that Poseidon's power significantly exceeds that of the heavy Russian Sarmat missile, which is considered the world's most powerful nuclear missile.

"Poseidon's power significantly exceeds the power of even our most promising Sarmat intercontinental range missile. There is no such thing in the world as the Sarmat, and it is not on duty here yet—it will be on duty soon," he said.

Putin described the drone as having "minimal sizes," noting it is "a hundred times smaller than a nuclear reactor on a submarine."

He promised that Russian scientists will continue to develop new weapons systems to decrease human losses on the battlefield.