A Typhoon SSBN 24,000 tons (surfaced), 48,000 tons (submerged) with thousands of tons of expensive Titanium alloy in its several pressure hulls. Those tiny red specks on it are men.
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It appears Russia has permanently or temporarily relocated the world's remaining Typhoon submarine (world's largest) to the Mediterranean or Black Seas. The Typhoon SSBN Dmitri Donskoy (TK-208) used for Bulava SLBM testing (some failures) for the last few years, has recently shifted to the Mediterranean. It is known from the Bulava tests that at least one of that Typhoon's missile tubes has been converted for Bulava firing but perhaps not all 20 tubes.
The movement of an SSBN would have no direct military application to a civil war in Syria or in Crimea-Ukraine but it would be a symbolic act escalating political tensions in those areas. Russia would hope that it was in favour of Russia and its allies. In the confined waters of the Mediterranean or Black seas a Typhoon would be as vulnerable to ASW forces as a barracuda in a barrel. About as hard to hide in those seas as the object below:
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Even more bizarre has been reports this week of a future Kanyon nuclear armed very Large LDUUV (below). The Kanyon would make for an extremely slow (10 knots over 2,000 nm tops) underwater missile as against Mach 10+ for an ICBM.The movement of an SSBN would have no direct military application to a civil war in Syria or in Crimea-Ukraine but it would be a symbolic act escalating political tensions in those areas. Russia would hope that it was in favour of Russia and its allies. In the confined waters of the Mediterranean or Black seas a Typhoon would be as vulnerable to ASW forces as a barracuda in a barrel. About as hard to hide in those seas as the object below:
Saint Basil's, Moscow. Difficult to hide in a small sea. Note that Typhoon submarine name Dmitri Donskoy also emerges in Saint Basil's construction.
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It is very likely Russia will NOT build the "Kanyon" UUV and certainly not nuclear arm it. Fertile minded terrorists could "hack into it" and pre-detonate it in a Russian city naval base, Saint Petersburg or Vladivostok?
I would say Kanyon is an imaginative hoax story dreamt up by Russian or (more likely) American rightwingers.
Pete