Poseidon

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Overview

Russian nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed autonomous undersea vehicle launched from special-purpose submarines.

Poseidon, also known as Status-6 or by the NATO name Kanyon, is a Russian strategic weapon designed by the Rubin Design Bureau: a very large autonomous torpedo powered by a compact liquid-metal-cooled reactor and armed with a nuclear warhead. Public estimates put it at about 20 m long and 2 m in diameter, with a diving depth around 1,000 m. Russian claims of top speeds near 100 knots and effectively unlimited range are unverified. Poseidon is meant to be launched from special-purpose submarines such as Belgorod and the new Khabarovsk, travel autonomously across oceans, and strike coastal cities, naval bases, or infrastructure. In October 2025 Russia said it had launched one from a carrier submarine and run it on nuclear power for the first time. It is the most extreme example of an uncrewed undersea vehicle used as a strategic weapon.

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Notes

Few verifiable figures exist. Length (about 20 m), diameter (about 2 m), depth (about 1,000 m), and speed claims come from Russian statements and secondary analysis and should be treated as approximate. On 29 October 2025 President Putin said the vehicle had been launched from a carrier submarine and run on its nuclear power unit. Carrier submarines are Belgorod and Khabarovsk.