18:02 27-05-2026

Russia May Revive Underwater Ballistic Missiles

The Maritime Executive said Russia may be reviving the idea of seabed-based ballistic missiles linked to Zvezdochka and Skif.

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Russia may return to the idea of placing ballistic missiles underwater. This was reported by The Maritime Executive, a magazine specializing in maritime issues.

The publication recalls that a similar concept was developed in the United States back in the 1960s. At that time, engineers from General Dynamics created a project for a capsule that was supposed to remain on the seabed with a ballistic missile inside. According to the developers' concept, such a system could rise to the surface and launch the missile after receiving a sonar signal. The tests were successful, but the Orca program was never brought to practical implementation.

The Maritime Executive notes that this concept had long been considered forgotten, but events in Russia’s Far North may indicate its possible return.

According to the magazine, NATO intelligence services have taken interest in the movements of the Russian underwater construction vessel Zvezdochka. It is one of four special-purpose ships that, according to the publication, belong to the secret Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research.

The vessel is based in the closed city of Severodvinsk, while information about its design and capabilities remains limited. The article says Zvezdochka is presumably intended to work with deep-sea vehicles and experimental underwater systems of the Russian Navy, including the Poseidon nuclear torpedo.

In addition, the magazine allows that Zvezdochka may be linked to a previously undisclosed underwater ballistic missile program called Skif. The publication describes it as a cheaper alternative to ballistic missile submarines.

Helge Adrians, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs interviewed by the publication, believes that placing intercontinental ballistic missiles on the seabed could give Russia two major advantages. In his assessment, neutralizing such systems would be extremely expensive, while the scheme itself would allow Russia to reduce the costs of building, maintaining and crewing ballistic missile submarines.

The Maritime Executive emphasizes that such a system, if this work is indeed underway, could become a relatively low-cost way for Russia to strengthen the underwater component of strategic deterrence.