Hi,
My little essay is NOT about how the KILO is the best, nor is it so titled. Far from it. My post was to draw attention to the spirit of this boat class, and how she might present new challenges and even opportunities for different tactics, for those who might not have considered trying out a diesel boat.
As we both pointed out, the KILO has many limitations, as well as a few strengths. Submarine COs who are not fortunate enough to find themselves at the conn of a Seawolf (this includes virtually every submarine CO in the world) can not throw up their hands and say "I'm not going out unless I get a Seawolf class". They work with what they have, playing to their boat's strengths, and their enemy's weaknesses. Further, they take some pride in overcoming disadvantage, and even in their "inferior" craft. That is the spirit my post was working to capture and share.
It would be easy to write the KILO off as not worth playing when compared to the other submarines DW offers, but I think we would be missing out on a boat with unique, and challenging, properties. Her differing characteristics cause one to re-think submarine tactics, and at the end of the day, this simulation is basically about learning and enjoying naval tactics.
I think Sonalysts were smart to include this class in DW, and hopefully, they will include more playable diesel boats in any expansion packs, seeing as diesel boats are what almost every navy in the world (that operates submarines) is using.
And yes, the KILO model is by far the best playable sub model in the game
Cheers.