Putin's four horsemen of the apocalypse: A nuke that orbits earth before striking anywhere, a torpedo that sparks radioactive tsunamis, a 14-storey high mega missile and Star Wars space weapon

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER and KEVIN ADJEI-DARKO, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:53, 16 May 2026 | Updated: 12:53, 16 May 2026 Vladimir Putin is assembling a terrifying set of superweapons that may bring nations to their knees at the simple push of a button. Deep inside Russia's military machine, the tyrant is quietly assembling an arsenal designed not to win a war in Europe, but to decimate entire nations.  His scientists are racing ahead with a terrifying array of nuclear systems that sound closer to doomsday fiction than modern military reality. They are building a suite of super weapons designed to frighten the world into submission - but these are not just bombs and missiles.  Putin's arsenal of superweapons include nuclear-powered underwater drones, reactor-driven cruise missiles, hypersonic attack vehicles and even suspected space-based capabilities that American officials warn could, in the most extreme scenario, blind satellites and plunge whole societies into darkness.  If Kremlin commanders are to be believed about their 'Poseidon' doomsday torpedo, a detonation would hurl a gigantic wall of irradiated seawater across coastal cities and naval bases in the West. For decades, Washington and Moscow relied on mutual deterrence and painstaking arms control treaties to ensure nobody crossed the line. Many treaties have been pushed aside or are totally dead, and military communication channels are strained.  Russia is at war in Europe and has repeatedly rattled the nuclear sabre.  And each time the Kremlin announces progress on one of its so-called invincible weapons, military officials and diplomats in the West exchange looks that say it plainly: the world is now closer to nuclear peril than at any point since 1962.  Tuesday's announcement that Russia has successfully tested its new Satan-2 intercontinental ballistic missile has pushed the West further towards the precipice of nuclear doom.  To make matters worse, Putin said that Russia planned to put the Satan-2, also known as Sarmat, on combat duty by the end of this year.  Moscow claims that these machines aren't just being stored away for future use, but are being actively tested for use in the near-future.  Your browser does not support iframes. A grab from footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry on May 12, 2026, shows the launch of the Sarmat  Vladimir Putin has been assembling a terrifying mix of weapons in an attempt to win a potential war with the West and wipe out cities Perhaps the most alarming of all is a weapon Russia calls Poseidon. Western officials usually refer to it cautiously, stressing that hard performance data is not public. But the broad contours are accepted because Putin himself has described them. In his telling, Poseidon is a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable underwater drone the size of a small submarine.  Russian state media and officials have claimed it can travel thousands of miles underwater, guided by artificial intelligence, before detonating near enemy coastlines. In theory, analysts say, such a blast could drive a massive radioactive surge inland, sending huge tsunami waves that could devastate cities.  When Putin confirmed a Poseidon test late last month, he said Russia had launched it from a submarine and then activated the reactor that powers it.  'There is nothing like this,' he told a group of military officials in 2025. 'There is no way to intercept it.' Some critics have said that Putin's claim that it is impossible to be intercepted cannot be verified.  But in nuclear strategy, perception is reality, and whether or not the system performs exactly as billed, its purpose is undeniable. It was developed as a response to the US's withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev declared that Poseidon can be considered a true 'doomsday weapon.'  Russian media commentators have suggested it could 'drown Britain.' Western analysts say such scenarios are likely exaggerated, but agree the concept itself is designed to terrify. It is said to be 20-24 metres long and about 2 metres in diameter. Some experts point out that generating a continent-sweeping radioactive tsunami is scientifically uncertain. But others note that uncertainty is the point.  If even a fraction of the horror described in Russian propaganda came to pass, coastal cities would be devastated, harbours contaminated, and land rendered toxic for years.   As if that was not enough, in November Putin unveiled his new terrifying nuclear submarine, which is built to carry Poseidon.  The Khabarovsk is said to have cost £1billion and has a 10,000-ton displacement.  The country's defence minister, Andrei Belousov, who oversaw the unveiling, said: 'The heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Khabarovsk is being launched from the renowned Sevmash shipyard. Your browser does not support iframes. The Khabarovsk is a hulking submarine which is built to carry Poseidon - it is said to have cost £1billion to develop A photograph showing Russia testing the nuclear-capable cruise missile, Burevestnik in 2019. Known as the 'Flying Chernobyl,' is designed to fly using a miniature nuclear reactor, according to Russian officials   'Carrying underwater weapons and robotic systems, it will enable us to successfully secure Russia's maritime borders and protect its national interests in various parts of the world's oceans.' Above the waves, a second horror - where the United States once abandoned nuclear-powered cruise missile research as too dangerous, Russia pressed forward. The Burevestnik, known as the 'Flying Chernobyl,' a weapon of 'unlimited range' as Putin puts it, is designed to fly using a miniature nuclear reactor, according to Russian officials.  In October, Putin said Russia had achieved 'key objectives' in a fresh test. General Valery Gerasimov added that the missile flew for several hours, covering a distance of nearly 87,000 miles, adding that 'this is not the limit'.  Western governments have not verified those performance claims. What is confirmed is the risk: in 2019, a suspected Burevestnik-related accident killed multiple Russian nuclear specialists and caused a detectable radiation spike. Critics say the very concept of a nuclear-propelled missile is reckless. 'Nuclear-powered cruise missiles are not a new idea,' said Patrycja Bazylczyk, a research associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. 'They are just a bad idea.'  She added the world risks 'radioactive wreckage or some other unintended consequence'.  Even if Russia never fields Burevestnik operationally, the fact that Moscow pursued and tested such a system at all underscores the Kremlin's mindset of deterrence through dread.  On Russian television, the missile is nicknamed the Flying Chernobyl because of the radioactive exhaust its propulsion allegedly leaves in its wake, a feature the Kremlin uses to underline the device's terror value as much as its strike capability.  Putin has bragged that it is a 'unique system' and 'one that no other country in the world possesses'.    Your browser does not support iframes. The launch of the secretive Cosmos-2553 in 2022. The US has shared concerns that Russia is exploring a space-based nuclear capability - a claim the Kremlin has denied  The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, known to NATO as Satan II. Russian media claims it can carry a vast load of multiple warheads and decoys, each capable of striking a different city Then comes the frontier that was supposed to be protected by international treaties: space.  In February 2022, Russia launched a satellite called Cosmos-2553 into an orbit so high and radiation-filled that analysts noted its unusual profile immediately.  Russia's Defence Ministry said it was testing equipment, but American officials later briefed that the satellite might be linked to experiments for a future nuclear anti-satellite device.  US intelligence has said publicly it believes Russia is exploring a space-based nuclear capability, a claim the Kremlin denies.  But when the United States brought a resolution to the United Nations reaffirming the decades-old ban on nuclear weapons in orbit, Russia vetoed it, while China abstained. The US and its allies voted in favour.  'Why, if you are following the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them?' asked US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at the time.  In orbit, Russian sources and domestic commentary describe a programme that would give Moscow the power to blind and paralyse modern society from above.  Kremlin-aligned analysts talk of an orbital capability that would detonate over enemy lines and fry satellites, shut down GPS and military networks and plunge entire regions into darkness without a single ground strike.  This would effectively turn space into a theatre of war where modern civilisation can be switched off in seconds.  The last time a nuclear device detonated at high altitude, during the 1962 Starfish Prime test, streetlights failed in Hawaii hundreds of miles away.  While those exotic systems draw headlines, the Kremlin's strategic backbone remains traditional but upgraded nuclear forces.  Putin's next point of pride is the RS-28 Sarmat, his super-heavy intercontinental ballistic missile. Known to NATO as Satan II, Russian media claim it weighs more than 200 tonnes and can carry a vast load of multiple warheads and decoys, each capable of striking a different city.  In state animations, Sarmat arcs across oceans at unusual angles, even over the South Pole, where no early warning radars watch. It is described as the missile that ends maps, a rocket that could erase a nation and leave only ruin behind.  The nuclear-capable Avangard hypersonic weapon in a photograph released by the Russian Defence Ministry. Moscow says it can change course mid-descent to avoid interception Speaking on Tuesday, the Russian leader claimed that the Sarmat is the most powerful missile system in the world, and the total yield of the warhead delivered by this missile is four times greater than that of any Western analogue. He said: 'The missile can travel not only along a ballistic trajectory, but also along a suborbital trajectory, which allows for a range of over 35,000 km while simultaneously doubling its accuracy and the ability to penetrate all existing and future missile defence systems.' Estimates from defence economists suggest the programme's development cost runs into tens of billions of pounds. Russia presents that price as a bargain, claiming the missile ensures no adversary can ever hope to survive a nuclear exchange. Then comes Avangard - Moscow claims its hypersonic glide vehicle can plunge through the atmosphere at speeds above 15,350mph, changing course mid-descent to dodge interception.  Russian television says it rides a plasma envelope as it tears toward its target, arriving with almost no warning and striking before defensive radars can lock on. It is estimated that it has a mass on the order of 1,500-2,000kg. The system is mounted on modified Soviet-era missiles today, and Russia says it will soon deploy Avangard on Sarmat as well, turning every launch into an existential riddle for Western defence planners.  The Kremlin has hinted that Avangard was developed for a fraction of what America spent on missile defence. Analysts cannot verify that figure, but agree that even limited deployment dramatically complicates any attempt to shield cities from a Russian strike. The Kinzhal missile adds terror at the theatre level. Air-launched from MiG-31K interceptors and long-range bombers, the missile is advertised in Moscow as a hypersonic dagger capable of reaching speeds Western systems cannot follow. Typical estimates list a range of around 932-1,243 miles when air-launched. Russian media claims it can smash hardened bunkers, pierce reinforced naval hulls and strike capital cities within minutes of launch.  Ukraine says it has shot down several Kinzhals using Western-supplied Patriot batteries, a fact the Kremlin disputes. Yet even in failure, the missile is treated inside Russia as a symbol of speed and inevitability.  Ukrainian defence officials estimate each missile costs around ten million dollars, a figure that speaks to both the weapon's sophistication and the Kremlin's willingness to pour resources into tools meant to frighten as much as destroy. Zircon launched during drills in the Mediterranean Sea. It has speeds of up to 7,000mph. Each missile is said to cost several millions of pounds Zircon completes the picture. Russian state broadcasters describe it as a sea-skimming hypersonic cruise missile that erupts from warships or submarines and races toward its prey at reported speeds up to 7,000mph. Footage released by the Russian Navy shows sleek launches from the White Sea and triumphant commentary about carriers sinking before they can scramble aircraft. Ukraine claims to have intercepted at least one Zircon. Moscow denies it, insisting Western fleets would never react in time.  No official cost has ever been confirmed, but defence analysts believe each missile likely costs several million pounds, a price Russia portrays as modest when set against the ability to send a carrier strike group to the ocean floor in seconds. Its length has been estimated at roughly 8.9-9m, with a diameter of about 0.6m.  Then there is Peresvet, the laser system Putin unveiled alongside these superweapons.  Russian briefings claim it can blind satellites, protect mobile missile convoys and burn through optical sensors to leave Western reconnaissance powerless. Military researchers point out that Russia has never shown laser firing in open footage, and its true ability remains hidden behind secrecy.  Yet the Kremlin emphasises Peresvet's presence as proof that its command posts and nuclear units can disappear from foreign eyes when conflict begins.  Little is known about its procurement cost, but directed energy programmes in other nations have run into the billions. Russia boasts that its lasers will darken the skies before the first missile rises. Finally comes what Moscow presents as the shield to its many swords.  The S-500 Prometheus air and missile defence network is marketed in official channels as capable of shooting down stealth aircraft, ballistic missiles and even some objects in low Earth orbit.  Footage of large mobile launch vehicles rolling across military parade grounds accompanies announcers describing a system that can protect Russia's nuclear infrastructure and intercept any retaliatory strike.  Independent defence experts argue that the S-500 remains unproven and in limited deployment - yet, to the Kremlin, it represents a final reassurance.  The underwater drone Poseidon. Putin praised the scientists behind the terrifying weapon in November Even if the unthinkable happens, they say, Russia will still stand and its capacity to strike back will survive. In the past fortnight, the alarm has grown louder. On November 6, 2025, Vladimir Putin told his Security Council that if the United States resumed nuclear testing, 'Russia would be under obligation to take reciprocal measures.'  Russia's advancements were said to have spooked US President Donald Trump into ordering his military officials to restart their own nuclear tests for the first time in over three decades in October 2025. Putin responded by signalling that he would order ministries to prepare proposals for restarting Russia's own tests - a signal, Western officials warned, that Moscow now sees no barrier left to full-scale confrontation. Just days earlier, on October 29, the Kremlin announced it had 'successfully tested' its Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo, the underwater drone long described by Russian media as unstoppable and capable of unleashing radioactive tidal waves on enemy coasts. Then on November 4, during an awards ceremony in Moscow, Putin publicly praised the scientists behind the Poseidon and the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, calling them 'faster and more effective' and declaring that they would guarantee Russia's strategic parity with the West. Meanwhile, US defence officials confirmed they were closely monitoring Russian test sites in the Arctic and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago after Putin's instruction to consider reciprocal nuclear trials.  Analysts told The War Zone on November 5 that Russia could resume underground detonations within months if ordered to do so. The meaning for the West is stark. A nation already fighting a war in Europe is openly boasting of weapons that can cross oceans underwater, fly for days, strike from orbit and blind satellites and is preparing, if provoked, to restart nuclear explosions.  Most of the messaging from the Kremlin has gone beyond deterrence - it is now escalation.  The tyrant has also been accused of ordering several incursions into European countries' airspace with drones and fighter jets, with experts saying he is looking for a confrontation and to test Western defences.  Some nations, including Britain, France, and Germany, have warned that they would shoot down any foreign objects in their skies.   Others have also urged NATO to do more to respond to the incursions that have caused disruptions at airports and forced the organisation to scramble fighter jets.  The Poseidon being test-launched in Russia. Putin has consistently bragged about the weapon with the Kremlin propaganda machine, saying it could 'drown Britain' A NATO general in September said it could soon be easier for member countries to shoot down Russian aircraft.   Russia has responded that this would mean war. For Kremlin officials, this could be the perfect opportunity to test any of Moscow's harrowing weapons.  If Russia believes the line has been crossed, these machines, the drones, the reactor-powered missiles, the hypersonic gliders and the orbiting warheads will not simply answer.  They will erase the difference between war and apocalypse. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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