Russia ‘accidentally’ reveals secret nuclear torpedo plan
But was leak on State TV just a stunt to scare Putin’s enemies?
RUSSIA yesterday admitted that secret plans for a giant nuclear torpedo were ‘accidentally’ leaked to state-run TV.
Footage showed a military official looking at confidential blueprints of a submarine-borne weapons system called Status-6.
Chillingly, the doomsday device is packed with radioactive explosives – a so-called dirty bomb – designed to make enemy coastlines uninhabitable.
If it is already developed by the Russians then Vladimir Putin has a weapon that could spread lethal radiation over a wide area. But its ‘accidental’ release will fuel claims that the Kremlin is deliberately trying to antagonise Nato.
The weapon was caught on camera by state TV broadcaster Channel One as President Putin met his military and defence industry leaders on Tuesday.
One general was seen studying diagrams and descriptions of the torpedo system, titled ‘Oceanic Multipurpose System – Status 6’.
The paper said its purpose was to create ‘zones of extensive radioactive contamination’ which would make them ‘unsuitable for military or economic activity for a long period of time’.
Last night military analysts claimed they believed the leak was intentional. Major Charles Heyman, author of Armed Forces of the UK, said: ‘You often have to make sure that your potential opposition knows what you’ve got so they can be a little bit wary of it.’
The torpedo – essentially a robotic mini-submarine – is designed to be carried by a 500ft Oscar-class sub and is about a third of its length. Another vessel, which is under construction and identified only as Project 09851, is also listed as a potential mothership.
The Kremlin confirmed that another state-controlled channel, NTV, had also shown the documents. Mr Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, claimed the leak happened by accident and secret data was subsequently deleted. ‘In future we will undoubtedly take preventive measures so this does not happen again,’ he said.
But analyst Maxim Shepovalenko, a former Russian naval officer, told The Moscow Times the leak was probably intentional.
He said: ‘This is a gentle hint at the kind of asymmetric response Russia is prepared to execute should aggravation prevail over a reasonable trade-off in its standoff with the West in general, and the US in particular. In other words, it is a “remember me” to the US from the late Andrei Sakharov,’ he added – referring to the father of the Soviet nuclear bomb.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon is to visit Turkey today, where he will say the UK ‘stands firmly’ behind its Nato ally ‘in the face of Russian incursions into its airspace’.