SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - How many kills would a Kilo be expected to make?

Henson · 05-20-06, 08:32 AM

It's not that a kilo cannot be effective at all in blue water. The issue is that it is much MORE effective in close, littoral waters where contacts are moving slower and the environment is more constrained.

When you're driving to the grocery store do you drive down the street, or do you travel across three states?

Iran's navy has a different purpose than any superpower navy. The US Navy is built to project power, while the iranians are concerned with controlling a small patch of real estate for as long a period as possible.

Here is an example of a realistic problem of a Kilo against a CG and DDG (both ASW threats). A Kilo is cruising at 4 kts. A Surface Action Group is cruising at 25kts. The slowest this problem could develop is 21kts. If the periscope detection range of the kilo is 16Kyds and the best weapon range is 9Kyds, the kilo has a 10 minute window of time with which to maneuver into position and attack. That assumes that the SAG is headed directly towards the sub and the sub remains headed directly away from the SAG. If the situation were less than this ideal (which would more than likely be the case) there would be even less time to react. Add to that the Kilo's speed. At 4 kts (which is generous) the sub is only moving 133 yds/min. In that ten minute window of time the Kilo would only be capable of moving about 1/2 mile with any degree of stealth. Each knot that he puts into the line of sight works against his ticking clock, and if the SAG is zigging then he has very little opportunity to correct mistakes or react to changes.

The Kilo either has to be in perfect position already prepared to fire, or he has to get a shot at the stern of passing targets...not an ideal shot.

The blue water problem is possible, but not effective. Basically the Kilo has to get lucky. I would rather wait at a choke point where I KNOW ships will come. At that, the Kilo excels.

05-20-06, 08:32 AM	#50
Henson Planesman Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 185 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	It's not that a kilo cannot be effective at all in blue water. The issue is that it is much MORE effective in close, littoral waters where contacts are moving slower and the environment is more constrained. When you're driving to the grocery store do you drive down the street, or do you travel across three states? Iran's navy has a different purpose than any superpower navy. The US Navy is built to project power, while the iranians are concerned with controlling a small patch of real estate for as long a period as possible. Here is an example of a realistic problem of a Kilo against a CG and DDG (both ASW threats). A Kilo is cruising at 4 kts. A Surface Action Group is cruising at 25kts. The slowest this problem could develop is 21kts. If the periscope detection range of the kilo is 16Kyds and the best weapon range is 9Kyds, the kilo has a 10 minute window of time with which to maneuver into position and attack. That assumes that the SAG is headed directly towards the sub and the sub remains headed directly away from the SAG. If the situation were less than this ideal (which would more than likely be the case) there would be even less time to react. Add to that the Kilo's speed. At 4 kts (which is generous) the sub is only moving 133 yds/min. In that ten minute window of time the Kilo would only be capable of moving about 1/2 mile with any degree of stealth. Each knot that he puts into the line of sight works against his ticking clock, and if the SAG is zigging then he has very little opportunity to correct mistakes or react to changes. The Kilo either has to be in perfect position already prepared to fire, or he has to get a shot at the stern of passing targets...not an ideal shot. The blue water problem is possible, but not effective. Basically the Kilo has to get lucky. I would rather wait at a choke point where I KNOW ships will come. At that, the Kilo excels.