Russia Begins Sea Trials of the Khabarovsk Submarine, a Dedicated Poseidon Drone Platform

The Russian Navy has launched the first factory sea trials of the Project 09851 nuclear-powered submarine Khabarovsk. The vessel left the Severodvinsk shipyard this month, marking its inaugural voyage since construction began in 2014. Designed as a second-strike retaliation platform, Khabarovsk carries six 2P39 launchers for autonomous underwater Poseidon strategic drones. Russian defense officials plan to transfer the submarine to the Pacific Fleet after testing.

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Poseidon is a megaton-class underwater drone intended to strike coastal facilities, ports, and carrier groups. Russia first fielded a Poseidon-capable platform with the Belgorod special-mission submarine in July 2022; Belgorod can carry four Poseidon drones. The Khabarovsk class expands this capability, with up to four submarines planned and a total inventory of roughly 30 Poseidon drones.

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The expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) in February 2026 removed formal arms-control constraints on these systems, allowing Russia to treat the Khabarovsk and Poseidon as distinct strategic assets. Recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian submarines have raised doubts about the survivability of traditional sea-based nuclear deterrents.

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• Launch capacity: Six 2P39 launchers per Khabarovsk.

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• Poseidon specifications: Megaton-class warhead, ~10,000 km range, operating depth ~1 km, submerged speed up to 200 km/h.

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• Planned fleet: Four Khabarovsk-class submarines, complementing the existing Belgorod platform.

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• Comparative assets: Russia also fields the Sarmat ICBM, Avangard and Zircon hypersonic weapons, Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, and Kinzhal aero-ballistic missile.

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The Khabarovsk’s deployment signals a shift toward deep-sea autonomous nuclear delivery systems that can operate beneath conventional anti-submarine defenses. By positioning the submarine in the Pacific Fleet, Russia extends its undersea nuclear posture toward the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, and Japan.

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Concentrating multiple Poseidon warheads on a small number of vessels creates a “force-concentration” risk: the loss of a single Khabarovsk could remove an entire Poseidon payload, potentially weakening Russia’s Pacific deterrent and increasing reliance on land-based ICBMs.

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Analysts note that the emergence of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and anti-drone netting on Russian submarine bases reflects concerns about the brittleness of sea-based nuclear platforms.

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Russian defense officials have indicated that the Khabarovsk will join the Pacific Fleet after the sea-trial phase, emphasizing its role as a “second-strike retaliation platform” equipped to counter emerging missile-defense technologies. No public statements from U.S. or allied defense agencies were cited.

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Security analysts argue that the Khabarovsk’s reliance on a limited number of vessels makes Russia’s undersea nuclear deterrent “brittle.” The War Zone (TWZ) reported that Russia has begun installing anti-drone cages on Kilo-class submarines and netting over docked SSBNs to mitigate UUV threats.

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Sources agree on Poseidon’s technical specifications and the planned number of Khabarovsk submarines, but differ on whether autonomous underwater drones can replace traditional SSBNs as the ultimate guarantor of second-strike capability. No independent verification of the sea-trial outcomes has been provided, leaving the operational effectiveness of the Khabarovsk-Poseidon system unconfirmed.

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