VLADIVOSTOK: Russia is scheduled to conduct the first sea trials of its Poseidon unmanned underwater drone this summer, Xinhua quoted a Russian news outlet on Friday.

The trials will be conducted from the nuclear-powered submarine Belgorod with a primary focus on assessing the performance of the drone’s nuclear engine, said the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

The experimental nuclear-powered submarine Belgorod, equipped with the Poseidon unmanned underwater drones, is set to be commissioned into the fleet in 2023, according to Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy.

The Poseidon is an unmanned underwater vehicle powered by a nuclear engine that primarily serves as a nuclear torpedo, capable of delivering a nuclear payload to the shores of potential adversaries.

It is 20 metres long, 1.8 metres in diameter and weighs 100 tonnes.-Bernama