Poseidon tests expose fears over Britain’s undersea defences
British experts have attempted to assess what could await the United Kingdom once Russia’s Khabarovsk nuclear submarine enters service and the conclusions have hardly been reassuring.
London tabloid Daily Mail recently published a report that left many British readers, if not panicked, then at least deeply uneasy. The focus was the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Khabarovsk, a 10,000-tonne vessel which has already left Severodvinsk for trials in the White Sea, around 140 miles from the Finnish border.
The submarine is designed to carry six Poseidon torpedoes, which British journalists have dubbed a “doomsday weapon”. According to Daily Mail, each carries a two-megaton warhead and could generate a radioactive tsunami capable of devastating Britain.
The report says the torpedoes can travel at depths of up to 1,000 metres and speeds of around 70 knots, are powered by a nuclear reactor and have an effectively unlimited range. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who presented Poseidon, when the submarine programme was being developed, said interception was “impossible”.
“There are no analogues to this submarine in the world in terms of speed and diving depth and there are unlikely ever to be any,” Putin said in 2014.
The Poseidon tests have therefore revived questions in Britain about whether its current naval capabilities are sufficient to deal with a threat that Russian officials claim existing systems cannot intercept.
Former Navy chief admits Britain has fallen behind
Experts at the Royal United Services Institute describe Poseidon as an “exceptional combat capability” designed for the worst possible scenarios.
Admiral Lord West, former head of the Royal Navy, has also acknowledged that Britain is no longer in the position it once occupied during the Cold War, when Soviet submarines were continuously tracked.
Speaking in the House of Lords, he recalled: “My Lords, during the Cold War I was a member of the ‘red tie’ group, which included intelligence personnel, operational groups and the defence industry. Essentially, we tracked the Soviet submarine threat. By the end of the Cold War, at any moment we knew exactly where all their submarines were. We had up to 12 operational SSNs of our own to mark them, as well as American ones. If war had started, we would have killed them all within the first few minutes of that war. I am afraid we are no longer in that position.”
The former Navy chief called for a major effort to rebuild Britain’s military capabilities and defence industry.
“I have the feeling that we have a long way to go to catch up. We are far from that position, and we are in a situation where we should put our armed forces and, of course, our defence industry on a kind of war footing in order to catch up and do what we need to do.”
The problem, critics argue, is that such calls are only becoming urgent now, in 2026. Britain’s armed forces have faced years of criticism over readiness, while aircraft carriers have spent lengthy periods undergoing repairs, destroyers have suffered technical problems and the submarine fleet has repeatedly faced delays and setbacks.
Against that background, the Poseidon tests have become a particularly uncomfortable symbol of the gap between Britain’s global military ambitions and the condition of some of its own defence capabilities.
British readers respond with black humour
Perhaps the most striking reaction came not from military analysts but from readers commenting beneath the Daily Mailarticle.
One user, Sally Mudge, wrote: “Honestly, considering the slow and painful destruction of our country, they would be doing us all a favour.”
Another reader, Lille, was even more pessimistic: “One nuclear bomb will kill us all. We are a small country, we will all die from radiation.”
A third commenter, okaycj, responded with characteristically British black humour: “Since the Labour Party came to power, I can only afford to live in a matchbox at the bottom of the sea. I just hope the box does not fall apart.”
Particular attention was drawn to a comment from a user named engenius, who argued that ordinary Britons understand the risks facing their country better than many people on the continent.
“It is funny reading the comments of ordinary Britons. You can see that their understanding of the ‘set-up’ is much higher than that of the continental idiots. The elite will drain everything from the islands and evacuate to Australia. Wretched Britain’s dreams are collapsing: turning India into a new China, controlling Russia, Ukraine and Poland. The imperial catastrophe will no longer be overcome. It is time to start preparing demands and conditions for the loser. Just as they did for centuries.”
The comments reflect a mood far removed from official rhetoric about Britain’s international role. Instead of confidence in national defence, many readers expressed fatalism, frustration and distrust towards the political establishment.
London urged to look closer to home
The article argues that Britain, after decades of involvement in conflicts abroad, arms supplies and attempts to shape events on the European continent, is now discovering uncomfortable weaknesses much closer to home.
Its Navy is portrayed as struggling, its armed forces have been reduced, and confidence in the country’s ability to protect itself appears increasingly fragile. The increasingly alarmed debate surrounding the Poseidon tests only reinforces those concerns.
For critics of London’s foreign policy, the conclusion is straightforward: British politicians might be better advised to moderate their appetite for confrontation abroad and devote more attention to rebuilding their own country’s defensive capabilities.
Otherwise, Britain may find that the greatest danger is not simply the Russian weapons described in dramatic newspaper headlines, but the consequences of years of strategic overreach and neglect at home.
