Comments on: Simply terrorists or an extension of MAD? https://habitablezone.com/2023/07/21/simply-terrorists-or-an-extension-of-mad/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:41:18 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2023/07/21/simply-terrorists-or-an-extension-of-mad/#comment-52103 ER Fri, 21 Jul 2023 21:24:41 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=100310#comment-52103 A doomsday weapon like this seems like it would be very expensive, and could easily be replaced by much cheaper and more effective Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles. It just doesn't make much military sense to build a one-shot, single-use nuclear-powered robot torpedo that costs more to develop, build and deploy than a submarine carrying a couple of dozen MIRVed SLBMs that could be used in a variety of different missions and could be carried by a boat capable of carrying out a variety of other combat roles. That's the problem with doomsday weapons. Using them means you've already been defeated, so their deterrent value is minimal. Beware of Popular Mechanics. They're the National Enquirer of science reporting. <blockquote>The Poseidon report comes from TASS, a Russian state-controlled media source. TASS reporting should be taken with a grain of salt; in the past, the news agency has reported Russia’s destruction of 200 Ukrainian military helicopters, or more than the country had at the beginning of the war, and 367 combat aircraft, far more than the Ukrainian Air Force actually operated. It has also under-reported Russian casualties and war crimes against civilians.</blockquote> Besides, an 80 knot submerged vehicle would kick up an easily detectable wake. We can already detect deep submerged subs at much lower speeds using synthetic aperture radar satellites. My guess is this is misinformation, designed to lead us into developing countermeasures against a threat that will never exist. I'll put my bets on Russian Electronic Countermeasures, particularly on communications, cloaking, sensors, targeting and navigational systems, as well as antisat tech. They're really good at it, and we are overly dependent on that technology. . A doomsday weapon like this seems like it would be very expensive, and could easily be replaced by much cheaper and more effective Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles. It just doesn’t make much military sense to build a one-shot, single-use nuclear-powered robot torpedo that costs more to develop, build and deploy than a submarine carrying a couple of dozen MIRVed SLBMs that could be used in a variety of different missions and could be carried by a boat capable of carrying out a variety of other combat roles. That’s the problem with doomsday weapons. Using them means you’ve already been defeated, so their deterrent value is minimal.

Beware of Popular Mechanics. They’re the National Enquirer of science reporting.

The Poseidon report comes from TASS, a Russian state-controlled media source. TASS reporting should be taken with a grain of salt; in the past, the news agency has reported Russia’s destruction of 200 Ukrainian military helicopters, or more than the country had at the beginning of the war, and 367 combat aircraft, far more than the Ukrainian Air Force actually operated. It has also under-reported Russian casualties and war crimes against civilians.

Besides, an 80 knot submerged vehicle would kick up an easily detectable wake. We can already detect deep submerged subs at much lower speeds using synthetic aperture radar satellites.

My guess is this is misinformation, designed to lead us into developing countermeasures against a threat that will never exist. I’ll put my bets on Russian Electronic Countermeasures, particularly on communications, cloaking, sensors, targeting and navigational systems, as well as antisat tech. They’re really good at it, and we are overly dependent on that technology.

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