Russia has launched its first submarine designed to launch the new Poseidon nuclear armed unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk.
The nearly complete Project 09852 special-purpose nuclear-powered submarine, Belgorod, was moved out of the Sevmash main assembly hall during the launch event on 23 April before being lowered into water in the port's basin to allow final assembly work and pre-delivery trials to begin.
Russian media reported that the 184 m-long submarine is designed to operate six Poseidon weapons and it is also believed to have an underwater dock beneath its hull to allow the launch of mini-submarines and multimission UUVs.
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