Russia orders nuclear sub drone carriers(SSDNs)

[Haijun watcher]

National Interest

Four Russian Submarine Will Have the Poseidon Nuclear Torpedo Drone
The drone actually is not very useful, but it sounds scary and that is the point.
by Sebastien Roblin

For decades, submarine nuclear deterrence has been uniquely provided by the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), designed to loft missiles from beneath the waves into space before releasing multiple nuclear warheads that rain hellfire on cities and military bases below. SSBNs can remain submerged basically indefinitely thanks to their nuclear reactors, and are thus unlikely to be all hunted down prior to launch orders being issued.

This first appeared earlier and is being reposted due to reader interest.
However, while Russia is planning to fully replace its older SSBNs with eight ultra-quiet Borei-class boats (detailed in a companion article), it is embarking on a radical new direction by also ordering four Khabarovsk-class nuclear-powered submarine drone-torpedo carriers, or SSDNs.
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[Admiral John Byng]

I suspect this is not a Third Strike weapon but would be used for a First Strike in a semi-conventional war. Russia's obsession with tactical nuclear weapons suggests that these torpedo drones and other small yield nuclear weapons would be used to nullify NATO's numerical advantage and wipe out bases and units as a prelude to a preemptive attack.