Russian TV 'Accidentally' Leaks Nuclear Torpedo Plan

The new weapon would make sure "everything living will be killed'
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 12, 2015 1:40 PM CST
Updated Nov 12, 2015 3:40 PM CST
Russian TV 'Accidentally' Leaks Nuclear Torpedo Plan
The Kremlin says secret documents for a nuclear torpedo system were accidentally leaked on Russian television.   (YouTube)

Plans for a new Russian nuclear torpedo system that could hypothetically wipe out every living thing along a wide swath of US coastline were accidentally leaked on state-controlled television, the BBC reports. Or at least, the Kremlin claims it was an accident. According to the Independent, a document titled "Ocean Multipurpose Systems: Status-6" was briefly shown on Channel One Russia and NTV during coverage of a meeting between Putin and military officials. The clip was quickly deleted, but not before screenshots of the document spread around the Internet. Russia Today reports the document showed designs for a large self-propelled torpedo capable of traveling more than 6,000 miles and going undetected by NATO and US missile defenses.

"It's true some secret data got into the shot," the Independent quotes a Putin spokesperson as saying. But some are speculating the Kremlin actually wanted the document leaked as a show of military strength. One Russian military analyst tells the BBC the "leak" was actually a warning to the US. The plans reportedly call for a weapon that could "devastate the US coast with a massive tsunami and intense radiation." And a government newspaper says the weapon would ensure "everything living will be killed." According to the BBC, the plans include a cobalt-enhanced warhead, something that's never been tested because of the "devastating radiation" it would cause. Russia Today reports it's unclear if the torpedo system is something that's actually being developed or just one of multiple possibilities. (More Russia stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X