Leak of Russian nuclear torpedo blueprints is no accident, independent experts say

RUSSIA’S “secret” blueprints for a devastating weapon have been leaked on state television. Independent experts say it was on purpose.

RUSSIAN state television has broadcast “secret” details of a devastating new long-range nuclear torpedo that would create widespread radioactive contamination.

The Kremlin has said the airing of the blueprints was an accident, but independent experts say they were leaked in a deliberate attempt by Russia to scare the West.

Russia’s NTV and Channel One showed a large document, which was filmed over the shoulder of a general during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, with illustrations and details of a prospective weapons system called Status-6.

The system, which includes nuclear submarines carrying long-range torpedoes, is designed to “destroy important economic installations of the enemy in coastal areas and cause guaranteed devastating damage to the country’s territory by creating wide areas of radioactive contamination, rendering them unusable for military, economic or other activity for a long time”, the document says.

The footage was aired on Tuesday and was later removed.

“It’s true some secret data got into the shot, therefore it was subsequently deleted,” spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said.

“In future we will undoubtedly take preventive measures so this does not happen again.”

But independent experts say it is hard to believe a camera operator for Russia’s tightly-controlled state television would shoot a close up on military documents during Kremlin meetings.

They say it is a deliberate leak intended to warn Washington and its allies that Russia is working on a new weapon that would deal a devastating blow in any conflict.

“I have a feeling it was shown in order to scare the world,” Alexander Golts, an independent Moscow-based military analyst Alexander Golts told Fox News.

“It’s an attempt to offer an asymmetric answer to the US missile defence.”

Geneva-based independent analyst Pavel Podvig told Fox the apparent leak looked menacing.

“The whole thing just strikes me as crazy,” he said.

Putin has held four meetings on defence issues in the four days this week as relations between Russia and the West remain strained over the crisis in Ukraine.

The document was shown at a meeting where Putin warned that “Russia will take necessary retaliatory measures to strengthen the potential of our strategic nuclear forces”.

The Russian leader has previously warned that Moscow would counter any attempt by the US to upgrade its nuclear weapons arsenal in Germany, in order “to restore balance and parity”.

Independent military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said Status-6 appeared to be a new incarnation of a shelved Soviet nuclear torpedo concept from the 1950s that involved targeting the US with high-yield nuclear torpedos to create huge tsunami waves and high levels of radioactivity.

“The plan is to deliver a 100-megaton nuclear bomb to the US shores,” Mr Felgenhauer told Fox.

“It would cause a highly radioactive tsunami.”

The documents appears to reveal the giant torpedo’s range as “up to 10,000km” and depth of trajectory “up to 1000m”.

Developed by Rubin, a St Petersburg submarine design bureau, the torpedo would apparently

be launched by nuclear-powered submarines of the 09852 “Belgorod” and 09851 “Khabarovsk” series.

Rossiiskaya Gazeta called the torpedo a “robotic mini-submarine”, travelling at 100 knots (185km/h), which would “avoid all acoustic tracking devices and other traps.”

Originally published as Leak of Russian nuclear torpedo blueprints is no accident, independent experts say