Putin’s grand “promise” that something powerful is coming.
Russia is rewriting the rules of war — and the West is once again watching with bated breath.
No exaggeration.
With a phrase that froze many headquarters, Vladimir Putin announced “successful tests of new weapons” and promised to reveal them publicly “soon.”
But what exactly does the Russian leader mean? Hypersonic missiles that no defence can catch? Nuclear-powered missiles with unlimited range? Or new anti-drone and electromagnetic weapons that will transform the battlefield?
The Kremlin speaks of “technological superiority”; the West hears a “warning.”
In Russia’s subterranean laboratories and on its frozen test ranges something is moving: ballistic colossi, new hypersonics, torpedoes of Judgment Day...
Nothing is accidental.
The timing is not accidental: international talks over New START and the prospect of supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine have created a sensitive geopolitical backdrop — and the Kremlin’s rhetoric looks designed to shape the master narrative before any Western move.
From the Sarmat missile, which promises to level continents, to the Poseidon submarine — the so-called “torpedo of the Apocalypse” — Russia appears ready to play the ultimate deterrence card.
The “candidates” — What could actually be revealed
1. Sarmat — the successor to the great ICBMs
The Sarmat (previously known as the RS-28) is described as an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads and bypassing anti-missile systems. A report of “completion of a deployment phase” or confirmation of new silos/infrastructure would be exactly the kind of show of force intended to deter — a powerful strategic ultimatum. Such announcements alarm capitals because they immediately translate into wider strategic capabilities.
2. Hypersonic systems — Avangard, Oreshnik, Tsirkon
Moscow has already heavily invested in the hypersonics narrative: mobility, speed, manoeuvrability and the ability to “pierce” existing air/anti-missile defences. Upgraded IRBMs such as the Oreshnik and systems like Avangard/Tsirkon could be presented as a preventive measure against future interventions and as a power instrument in regional conflicts (including Ukraine). The presence of new hypersonic weapons changes the defence perception game.
3. Poseidon — a strategic-range submarine weapon (the “100-Mt torpedo”)
Poseidon, an unmanned high-power underwater weapon (the description of it as 100 megatons is indicative of terrifying symbolism), is more a deterrent and psychological weapon than an everyday battlefield tool. An announcement of full operational capability would mean Russia has new means to conduct operations against maritime infrastructure with strategic consequences.
4. Burevestnik & B61-type “eternal-range” nuclear-powered cruise missiles
The Burevestnik (a nuclear-powered cruise missile with theoretically “infinite range” characteristics) remains a fearsome technological narrative: if it worked, it would threaten containment systems and negate some forms of geographic limitation. Yet these technologies carry huge technical challenges and major international political consequences.
5. Anti-drone systems — lasers, EM warfare, mobile EW/microwave systems
In practice, a realistic and immediately deployable “new weapon” with clear utility on the Ukrainian front could be advanced anti-drone systems: mobile electronic warfare units, short-to-mid-range lasers or high-power microwave (HPM) systems that neutralise dense swarms of attack drones. Such weapons have direct operational use to defend cities, camps and infrastructure — politically lower profile than a nuclear display, but highly practical and dangerous in a theatre of operations.
A separate discussion concerns non-nuclear electromagnetic weapons (EMW/HPM). These could include compact generators, fixed installations, or even warhead-delivered systems designed to disable all kinds of power stations and energy hubs without harming the civilian population or causing major blast damage.
Why the West and Kyiv view the announcements as a threat
The public display of strategic weapons (ICBMs, submarine systems, nuclear-powered cruise missiles) is primarily a message of political power — it signals that the country possesses means to respond on scales that go beyond the battlefield.
Destabilising the balance: especially if the Sarmat or Poseidon are put into operational readiness, local and regional security would change radically.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Connection to current events: the announcements come at a time when Tomahawk/other support deliveries to Ukraine are under discussion and as the New START dialogue remains fluid — such timing multiplies their impact.
www.bankingnews.gr
No exaggeration.
With a phrase that froze many headquarters, Vladimir Putin announced “successful tests of new weapons” and promised to reveal them publicly “soon.”
But what exactly does the Russian leader mean? Hypersonic missiles that no defence can catch? Nuclear-powered missiles with unlimited range? Or new anti-drone and electromagnetic weapons that will transform the battlefield?
The Kremlin speaks of “technological superiority”; the West hears a “warning.”
In Russia’s subterranean laboratories and on its frozen test ranges something is moving: ballistic colossi, new hypersonics, torpedoes of Judgment Day...
Nothing is accidental.
The timing is not accidental: international talks over New START and the prospect of supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine have created a sensitive geopolitical backdrop — and the Kremlin’s rhetoric looks designed to shape the master narrative before any Western move.
From the Sarmat missile, which promises to level continents, to the Poseidon submarine — the so-called “torpedo of the Apocalypse” — Russia appears ready to play the ultimate deterrence card.
The “candidates” — What could actually be revealed
1. Sarmat — the successor to the great ICBMs
The Sarmat (previously known as the RS-28) is described as an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads and bypassing anti-missile systems. A report of “completion of a deployment phase” or confirmation of new silos/infrastructure would be exactly the kind of show of force intended to deter — a powerful strategic ultimatum. Such announcements alarm capitals because they immediately translate into wider strategic capabilities.
2. Hypersonic systems — Avangard, Oreshnik, Tsirkon
Moscow has already heavily invested in the hypersonics narrative: mobility, speed, manoeuvrability and the ability to “pierce” existing air/anti-missile defences. Upgraded IRBMs such as the Oreshnik and systems like Avangard/Tsirkon could be presented as a preventive measure against future interventions and as a power instrument in regional conflicts (including Ukraine). The presence of new hypersonic weapons changes the defence perception game.
3. Poseidon — a strategic-range submarine weapon (the “100-Mt torpedo”)
Poseidon, an unmanned high-power underwater weapon (the description of it as 100 megatons is indicative of terrifying symbolism), is more a deterrent and psychological weapon than an everyday battlefield tool. An announcement of full operational capability would mean Russia has new means to conduct operations against maritime infrastructure with strategic consequences.
4. Burevestnik & B61-type “eternal-range” nuclear-powered cruise missiles
The Burevestnik (a nuclear-powered cruise missile with theoretically “infinite range” characteristics) remains a fearsome technological narrative: if it worked, it would threaten containment systems and negate some forms of geographic limitation. Yet these technologies carry huge technical challenges and major international political consequences.
5. Anti-drone systems — lasers, EM warfare, mobile EW/microwave systems
In practice, a realistic and immediately deployable “new weapon” with clear utility on the Ukrainian front could be advanced anti-drone systems: mobile electronic warfare units, short-to-mid-range lasers or high-power microwave (HPM) systems that neutralise dense swarms of attack drones. Such weapons have direct operational use to defend cities, camps and infrastructure — politically lower profile than a nuclear display, but highly practical and dangerous in a theatre of operations.
A separate discussion concerns non-nuclear electromagnetic weapons (EMW/HPM). These could include compact generators, fixed installations, or even warhead-delivered systems designed to disable all kinds of power stations and energy hubs without harming the civilian population or causing major blast damage.
Why the West and Kyiv view the announcements as a threat
The public display of strategic weapons (ICBMs, submarine systems, nuclear-powered cruise missiles) is primarily a message of political power — it signals that the country possesses means to respond on scales that go beyond the battlefield.
Destabilising the balance: especially if the Sarmat or Poseidon are put into operational readiness, local and regional security would change radically.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Connection to current events: the announcements come at a time when Tomahawk/other support deliveries to Ukraine are under discussion and as the New START dialogue remains fluid — such timing multiplies their impact.
www.bankingnews.gr
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