Overview
- On Thursday May 21, 2026 multiple outlets reported NATO and western intelligence have focused on a codename 'Skythen' that they say aims to place ballistic missiles in silos on the seabed.
- Investigative work by WDR and NDR cited satellite images, Russian databases and expert interviews and identified a transport ship called Zvezdochka and the special submarine Sarov as candidate platforms.
- NATO sources say a modified ICBM called 'Skif', derived from the Sineva rocket, was developed for the concept and that limited tests reportedly took place years ago.
- Experts warn major engineering problems remain, including seabed currents, sedimentation, power supply and remote communications, which make wide operational use uncertain.
- The 1971 seabed treaty bars nuclear emplacement only in international waters so placement in Russia’s own coastal waters would raise legal and regional security questions while both NATO and Moscow decline to confirm deployment.