Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     For the time being, strategic ambiguity is probably the most significant advantage that the Poseidon may give Russia. Skomorokhov notes that while it may be logical to build a horrific weapon such as the Poseidon, the reality of the weapon’s existence and its capabilities are very hard to verify.
     Skomorokhov also mentions that the Poseidon may be a doomsday weapon or that Russia may want to influence the world with stories of such a super weapon to prevent an adversary’s attack in the first place. In any of the possible ways of perceiving the Poseidon mentioned in Part 1, he claims that the conflicting stories about the Poseidon have at least confused the U.S. defense planners.
      The Barents Observer (BO) reports that the Belgorod will be in experimental operation with Russia’s Northern Fleet before it is released to regular duties with Russia’s Pacific Fleet. There has been no mention of where the Belgorod will be based during its experimental operation with the Northern Fleet. The BO reports suggests two possible locations for the Belgorod home port. The first possibility is Severodvinsk which will be the location for the development of the Poseidon. The second choice could be Olenya Bay at the Kola Peninsula. This is where other special-purpose submarines are based.
     According to the U.S. ODIN military training database, the Poseidon is should be seen as a family of underwater drones rather than being a single type of underwater vehicle. Some units may be purposed to attack coastal targets. Other units may be designed as super-cavitating torpedoes to attack carrier battle groups. The nuclear-armed variant of the Poseidon is armed with a low-yield two megaton cobalt warhead that could contaminate a one thousand by 200-mile area, making it a weapon of last resort.
      The same source reports that the Poseidon appears to be a robotic submarine about six feet in diameter and about eighty feet long. It is said to have a top speed of sixty-two miles per hour, a six-thousand-mile range and a maximum depth of about three thousand feet. The Poseidon drone may operate at a depth between one hundred and three hundred feet in a low-speed mode for increased stealth. It can reportedly travel for weeks in the low-speed mode to reach a target area before it activates its high-speed mode in the last one to two miles to its target.
      The Losharik is an unarmed saboteur submarine according to the website GlobalSecurity.org. It can dive down to about twenty thousand feet. It is reportedly the Russian Navy’s most silent and difficult to detect submarine. It is designed to plant depth charges in inaccessible locations, conduct surveillance, destroy submarine cables or tap into them. Aside from those missions, it can also perform seafloor studies, submarine rescue and special operations.
      Since the Losharik is a highly classified project, there are few details available about its specific dimensions. However, the source estimates a length of two hundred and forty feet and a beam of twenty-three feet. The Losharik has an estimated displacement of two thousand tons and is nuclear-powered with a maximum speed of thirty-four miles per hour. It can carry an all-officer crew of twenty-five.