October 27, 2019
Russia's Alfa-Class Submarine Was an Underwater Hot Rod NATO Hated
At the cost of its stealth.
by David Axe Follow @daxe on Twitter L
Key point: What's the point of a non-stealthy submarine?
In 1969, the Soviet navy shocked the U.S. and NATO militaries with a new and incredibly capable submarine—one that could swim faster and dive deeper than could anything else under the sea.
But the seven high-tech Alfa-class submarines—each able to reach 45 knots of speed and 2,400 feet of depth—actually were inferior where it really mattered. Their speed and depth-resistance came at the cost of noisy internal machinery that made them easy to detect … and destroy.
“The Alfa was a huge step forward in submarine design,†retired Royal Navy sub commander Doug Littlejohns told naval expert Iain Ballantyne. But considering all of the sub’s limitations, “what is the point?†Littlejohns added.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russias-alfa-class-submarine-was-underwater-hot-rod-nato-hated-90701
