MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - Russia has designed unmanned submarines capable of deep diving and traveling between continents at a speed much higher than that of submarines, torpedoes, and the best surface ships, President Vladimir Putin said in his annual address to the Federal Assembly.
"This is just fantastic," Putin said.
The vehicles "feature low noise and high maneuverability and are invulnerable to the enemy," he said.
"The world simply does not have systems to counter them," Putin said.
"Unmanned subs can carry conventional and nuclear weapons. Therefore, they can destroy a broad range of targets, including aircraft carrier forces, coastal fortifications, and infrastructure," he said.
"A many-year cycle for testing an innovative nuclear engine for the unmanned submersible was finalized in December 2017," Putin said.
"The nuclear engine has a uniquely small size and a super-high power-weight ratio," he said.
"It is 100 times smaller than power units of modern nuclear-powered submarines, but it has a greater capacity, and the time it takes to shift to combat gear, to maximum capacity, is 200 times shorter," Putin said.
"The outcome of those trials enabled us to start building a brand-new type of strategic weapon," he said.