Quote:
Originally Posted by Kapitan
|
Had to come up for recharge! Ha!
The question piqued my interest because both boats are awfully similar, on the one hand. But, on the other hand, both in the fleet and in the civvy there's always an interest in a head-to-head contest between two subs. Who's better? Advantage?
Top Torp '92 settled this question when Key West went head to head with San Juan. It was San Juan that held superior silencing & sensor capability. But, Key West, returning from active deployment in the North Atlantic, held superior tactics. Both ships fired at about the same time. Both ships were in the Death Circle. Neither ship landed a hit.
In another scenario, Key West countered San Juan's torpedo with a snapshot. Both vessels got hit. Both destroyed. The New Sub should have been able to take out the Old Sub and survive. Didn't happen.
Now I would expect Astute to have an ASW advantage over Virginia. But if Top Torp '92's experience serves as a useful guide then both ships either destroy each other or wiggle away, avoiding the incoming torpedo.
So, back to the posted question: Which is better? Top Torp '92 says from experience that neither is better or either is better. No one really wants to find out, except under controlled exercises, like the ones we do in AUTEC.
Finally, I doubt the Soviets showed much interest in the matter either. Their performance enhancements were directed at keeping their Fast Attacks difficult to detect.
Stand off weapons are another fly in the ointment. But, I digress. Another topic for another thread.