---
title: "Missiles on the seabed: Russia revives the 'Skyph' project for underwater strikes"
description: "NATO intelligence has recorded the work of the secret ship 'Zvezdochka' on the 'Skyph' project. Russia may place ballistic missiles on the seabed to save on submarines. Experts call this technology dangerous due to the difficulty of detection. 🚀🌊🇷🇺"
date: 2026-05-27T04:30:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/missiles-on-the-seabed-russia-revives-the-skyph-project-for-underwater-strikes
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Missiles on the seabed: Russia revives the 'Skyph' project for underwater strikes

![Scythia project missile on launch platform over water: revival of Russian underwater weaponry](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/02/raketki-na-dne-rossiya-vozrozhdaet-proekt-skif/raketki-na-dne-rossiya-vozrozhdaet-proekt-skif-1.webp)

The Russian Federation is likely developing a new tactic of nuclear deterrence that allows it to bypass expensive traditional methods. This involves placing ballistic missiles in special capsules directly on the seabed. According to experts, this approach will allow the Kremlin to significantly save on the construction and maintenance of nuclear submarines.

### Secrets of the 'Zvezdochka' ship

The signal for the intensification of rumors was the movement of the ship 'Zvezdochka', which is under the close attention of NATO intelligence. It is one of four ships of the secret Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research of the Russian Federation, based in the closed city of Severodvinsk. The ship specializes in working with experimental weapons.

Previously, 'Zvezdochka' was linked to the development of the 'Poseidon' nuclear torpedo, however, new data indicates the ship's involvement in the 'Skyph' program. The essence of the project is the creation of seabed-based ballistic missiles.

### Invisible threat

German expert Helge Adrian warns of the serious danger posed by this technology. Missiles lying on the bottom are practically impossible to detect using sonar, as they are in a static position. Neutralizing them before launch becomes an extremely difficult task.

The main advantage of the project is economic efficiency. Russia will not need to maintain huge crews, build expensive submarines, or spend money on fuel for their movement.

### History of a failed US project

The idea of seabed missiles is not new. Back in the 1960s, the American company General Dynamics developed the Orca project. It was a capsule with a missile inside, which was activated by a sonar signal and surfaced for launch.

The US successfully tested the system, but the Pentagon abandoned it, choosing a more expensive but reliable path of creating a submarine fleet, the construction of which cost $125 billion. Russia began to be interested in these developments back in the 1990s, and now the project has been revitalized.

### Economic context and asymmetric response

Experts link the revival of the 'Skyph' project to the current state of the Russian budget. The war in Ukraine, which has been going on for five years already, is exhausting the country's resources, and military spending has reached a historical maximum. Oil revenues remain unstable due to sanctions.

The deployment of 'Skyphs' is seen as an asymmetric response to Western technologies. At the same time, Russia is facing problems in other areas of armaments. For example, the ZAK-30 'Citadel' anti-aircraft complex, developed to protect refineries from Ukrainian drones, raises questions about its effectiveness against long-range strikes. Failures with the use of the 'Oreshnik' missile complex have also been recorded: during the attack on May 24, one of the two missiles fell on the territory of the occupied Donetsk region.