Russia’s nuclear submarines have not been spotted in Southern waters for more than 20 years. That’s all going to change soon.

Reuters reports that Russia plans to send multiple nuclear submarines to the Southern hemisphere. It will be the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union that the country has sent its nuclear submarines to the South.

An unnamed military official said the reason for the deployment in the South is merely for deterrence reasons. It’s a pretty good deterrent as Russia’s nuclear submarines are capable of carrying 16 long-range nuclear missiles.

Of course, it’s not like Russia is just going to send a fleet of nuclear submarines right now. The country is going to send them in waves over many years.

Still, Russia sending nuclear submarines to the Southern hemisphere is likely to raise concerns among certain countries. That’s the goal with deterrence, however, and it will likely work. Russia has the second most number of active nuclear warheads in the world, trailing only behind the U.S. Both countries still have enough weapons to decimate the entire world so the country is unlikely to see any aggression directed towards it from Southern actors once these submarines are deployed.

[Image: Bellona]