Munitions

2M39 Poseidon

Also known as
  • Poseidon
  • Status-6
  • Kanyon
  • Oceanic Multipurpose System Status-6
  • Poseidon oceanic multipurpose system
  • 2M39 Kanyon

The 2M39 Poseidon is a Russian nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable unmanned underwater strike vehicle associated with the earlier Status-6 disclosure and NATO reporting name Kanyon. Open sources describe it as a submarine-launched strategic weapon for coastal or naval targets, but most performance, production, and readiness details remain Russian official claims or independent estimates rather than verified operational data.

2M39 Poseidon, Nuclear-powered unmanned underwater strike vehicle, Munitions
Image source: Wikimedia Commons Status-6 image
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Russia
Type
Nuclear-powered unmanned underwater strike vehicle
Service note
Publicly revealed as Status-6 in 2015, presented by Russia as Poseidon in 2018, and still described in open sources through 2026 as a strategic system with opaque operational status
Designer
Russian defense industry; Rubin Design Bureau is widely reported in open sources for the underwater-vehicle design context
Designed
Publicly disclosed in outline as Status-6 in 2015 and presented by Russia as Poseidon in 2018
Unit cost
Not publicly disclosed
Produced
Not publicly confirmed in detail; Russian state-linked reports have described trials and production activity without complete independent verification
Number built
Not publicly disclosed; Russian state-linked reporting has described a planned force of more than 30 vehicles

Specifications

Class
Submarine-launched unmanned underwater strategic strike vehicle
Propulsion
Nuclear-powered underwater vehicle concept using a compact reactor; successful nuclear-powered operation was publicly claimed by Russia in October 2025
Payload
Russian official statements and open sources describe conventional or nuclear warhead options
Launch platform
Special-purpose submarine-launched system; Belgorod and Sarov are documented in open reporting as carrier or test-platform context
NATO reporting name
Kanyon
Estimated diameter
USNI summarizes public estimates of roughly 5 to 7 feet
Estimated length
USNI summarizes public estimates from about 66 to 80 feet
Estimated speed
USNI summarizes public estimates from about 55 knots to 100 knots; Chatham House cites a reported speed around 70 knots
Estimated range
USNI cites public estimates up to about 5,400 nautical miles; Russian claims frame the nuclear-powered system as having effectively unlimited practical range
Estimated operating depth
Chatham House reports claimed operation down to roughly 1 km
Public Claims And Estimates

Poseidon's public profile mixes Russian official claims, state-linked reporting, and outside estimates. The system is best read as a strategic strike and deterrence program with limited independently verifiable performance data.

Mission framing

Russian statements describe a system able to attack coastal infrastructure and naval groups with conventional or nuclear payloads.

Sources: TASS Poseidon trials; Chatham House Putin super weapons.

Performance data

USNI summarizes public estimates for diameter, length, speed, and range, while Chatham House reports claimed deep-diving and nuclear-reactor attributes.

Sources: USNI Poseidon naval strike weapon; Chatham House Putin super weapons.

Readiness caveat

Production and deployment quantities remain opaque; several Russian state-linked reports explicitly relied on unnamed sources or lacked official confirmation.

Sources: TASS Poseidon force plan; TASS Poseidon first batch.

Variants

Poseidon has appeared publicly under several designation and reporting-name labels rather than as confirmed separate production variants.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
Status-6Early public project designation

Chatham House traces Poseidon's public exposure to a November 2015 Status-6 schematic shown during Russian television coverage of a Ministry of Defence meeting.

Sources: Chatham House Putin super weapons

KanyonNATO reporting name

USNI identifies Kanyon as the NATO reporting name for the Poseidon underwater strike weapon.

Sources: USNI Poseidon naval strike weapon

Launch And Test Platforms

Public reporting links Poseidon to special-purpose submarines rather than to a conventional torpedo-tube inventory.

LauncherLauncher typeLaunch evidence
K-329 Belgorod submarine, Special-purpose nuclear-powered submarine, Naval SystemsK-329 Belgorod submarineSpecial-purpose carrier submarine

CSIS described Belgorod as the first launch platform for Poseidon UUVs, and USNI later described it as an adapted Project 09852 submarine able to launch six Poseidon weapons.

Sources: CSIS Belgorod launch, USNI Khabarovsk submarine and Poseidon

Sarov-class submarine, Special-purpose submarine, Naval SystemsSarov-class submarineSpecial-purpose test submarine

USNI says Poseidon was reportedly first test-launched from Sarov in the Arctic in 2016; the existing Sarov catalog record treats that as development and test-platform context, not combat use.

Sources: USNI Poseidon naval strike weapon

Carrier evidence limit

Khabarovsk and later Project 09851/09853 boats are widely reported as Poseidon carriers, but no public catalog link is added here until a sourced, media-complete support record is available.

Sources: USNI Khabarovsk submarine and Poseidon, TASS Poseidon force plan

Timeline

2M39 Poseidon Key Events

  1. Status-6 schematic enters public reporting

    Chatham House describes Poseidon's public origin as the Status-6 schematic photographed during Russian television coverage of a Ministry of Defence meeting.

    Sources: Chatham House Putin super weapons

  2. Poseidon presented with Russia's new strategic systems

    PISM and Chatham House place Poseidon among the strategic systems Putin presented in 2018 as responses to U.S. missile-defense and conventional-strike advantages.

    Sources: PISM Burevestnik project analysis, Chatham House Putin super weapons

  3. Russia says Poseidon trials are underway

    TASS reported Russian Defence Ministry statements that trials were organized to check launch dynamics and autonomous route movement, while also publishing Russian claims about conventional or nuclear payload options.

    Sources: TASS Poseidon trials

  4. State-linked report describes planned Poseidon force

    TASS, citing a defense-industry source and noting no official confirmation, reported a plan for more than 30 Poseidon vehicles on carrier submarines assigned to the Northern and Pacific Fleets.

    Sources: TASS Poseidon force plan

  5. Belgorod launch adds a visible carrier platform

    CSIS reported the April 2019 launch of the Project 09852 Belgorod submarine and described it as the first launch platform for Poseidon underwater unmanned vehicles.

    Sources: CSIS Belgorod launch

  6. Unconfirmed first-batch report

    TASS reported, again without official confirmation, that an initial Poseidon batch had been manufactured for the Belgorod special-purpose submarine.

    Sources: TASS Poseidon first batch

  7. Russia claims first nuclear-powered Poseidon test

    AP reported Putin's claim that Poseidon had been launched from a carrier submarine and run on nuclear power during a test for the first time; USNI described the statement as part of Russia's public strategic-weapons messaging.

    Sources: AP Poseidon test reporting, USNI Poseidon naval strike weapon

Media

2M39 Poseidon Videos

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Sources

PISM Burevestnik project analysisPublisher: Polish Institute of International Affairs | Note: Supports Poseidon background as a nuclear-powered strategic system presented alongside Burevestnik in 2018. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Chatham House Putin super weaponsPublisher: Chatham House | Note: Supports Status-6/Poseidon designation history, Russian mission claims, miniature-reactor and operating-depth claims, and Belgorod as the first planned carrier. | Accessed: 2026-07-13TASS Poseidon trialsPublisher: TASS | Note: Supports Russian Defence Ministry claims about Poseidon trials, autonomous-route checks, conventional or nuclear payload options, and intended target sets. | Accessed: 2026-07-13TASS Poseidon force planPublisher: TASS | Note: Supports state-linked reporting on a planned force of more than 30 Poseidon vehicles and carrier submarines, while noting TASS had no official confirmation. | Accessed: 2026-07-13TASS Poseidon first batchPublisher: TASS | Note: Supports state-linked reporting that an initial Poseidon batch had been manufactured for Belgorod, while noting TASS had no official confirmation. | Accessed: 2026-07-13CSIS Belgorod launchPublisher: Center for Strategic and International Studies Missile Threat | Note: Supports Belgorod's April 2019 launch, Project 09852 designation, 184 m length, and first-launch-platform context for Poseidon UUVs. | Accessed: 2026-07-13AP Poseidon test reportingPublisher: Associated Press | Note: Supports Putin's October 2025 claim of a Poseidon nuclear-powered test and general system description. | Accessed: 2026-07-13USNI Poseidon naval strike weaponPublisher: U.S. Naval Institute | Note: Supports Poseidon type, Kanyon reporting name, public estimated dimensions, speed, range, nuclear-propulsion description, 2016 Sarov test-launch reporting, and October 2025 test-claim context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13USNI Khabarovsk submarine and PoseidonPublisher: U.S. Naval Institute | Note: Supports Khabarovsk, Belgorod, and later carrier-submarine context, including reported six-Poseidon carriage and public estimates for Poseidon dimensions, speed, depth, range, and warhead yield. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Wikimedia Commons Status-6 imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports use of a Mil.ru-attributed Status-6/Poseidon image licensed CC BY 4.0 through Wikimedia Commons. | Accessed: 2026-07-13