Russia has unveiled a nuclear submarine armed with advanced weapons that's believed to be the largest built anywhere in the world over the last 30 years.
The Belgorod started sea trials on the weekend amid rising tensions between Russia and NATO navies, reports Naval News.
The 184 metre-long nuclear-powered submarine is armed with six intercontinental Poseidon torpedoes but can also act as a mothership for smaller submarines.
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The torpedoes can carry nuclear warheads and have an unlimited range.
With a speed of about 70 knots and capable of reaching depths of 1000 metres, they cannot be countered with current weapons, reports say.
The Belgorod is also planned to become a mothership for potential clandestine Russian strikes against key western underwater internet cables.
It will act as a host vessel or for its deep diving mini submarines equipped with robotic arms that could tamper with or cut vital cabling.
The Russian navy has been carrying out sea trials on the Belgorod in the White Sea over past days.
https://twitter.com/K560s/status/1408787117568897030?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwRussian military chiefs said the submarine will be part of the navy's Pacific fleet but it could be deployed in other regions of the world.
Launched in 2019, the Belgorod will be handed over to Russia's secretive Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, when sea trials end.
Advanced testing of the submarine comes after Russia said it fired warning shots when a British warship entered the disputed Crimean waters last week.
Russia said the UK's HMS Defender went three kilometres inside what it described as its territory off Cape Fiolent in Crimea, last week.
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But the UK Ministry of Defence denied Kremlin claims that shots were fired at the Royal Navy vessel.
A BBC reporter on the ship said he witnessed Russian warplanes and naval vessels buzzing the destroyer during the flare-up on Wednesday.
Shortly after the British ship crossed the territorial boundary, an Su-24M attack jet dropped bombs and a coastal patrol ship fired warning shots in front of the British destroyer, the Russian defence ministry said in a report from Russian state media TASS.
But the UK government has denied the claims.
- With CNN, AP
