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Originally Posted by Kapitan
Well for a starters the USN has been itching to get its hands on an al'fa from day one, simply because the submarine is still the fastest submarine in the world and the americans dont seem to be able to grasp how to do it.
Another thing is the blended sail if you lok the sail is blended in nicely to the hull giving less drag effect, again this is where the americans are stumped.
Russia is still today the only country on earth that has made an entire submarine from titanium, and to get hold of even this 40 year old lump of metal would be a gold mine even if we see it as nothing but a pile of junk.
If you notice all the submarines that are up for scrap are made of steel why do you think russia has not released the al'fa and papa class for scrapping yet? because when they do you can rest assured the royal navy and the U.S navy will be climbing over them and inspecting them with a tooth pick!
It maybe 40 years old it may be rotten to you it may not be at the level you expect in the USN but at the time it was made nothing on gods earth could touch the submarine and that counts more than anything so effectivly it was totaly invincible, now do you see why the americans went ahead and desigend the MK48 ADCAP? because if it wasnt for the al'fa then the ADCAPS would probably not exist.
So how did the russians counter the ADCAPS? simple they built a submarine that could go even deeper.
Enter Project 685 Plavnik or mike class with a crush depth of 1,100 meters the mighty ADCAP couldnt get this submarine its just a shame that it sank  |
I disagree with you on several points - The only reason this sub is fast is simply because it is small and packs 42000-43000 shp. Its a brute force method that gave this sub a chance in a world where stealth is paramount and the Russians had no idea how to build a stealthy sub at the time. The sail, though nice, is designed for speed since littoral missions were impossible for Russian subs. US subs were designed for many mission types making the sail as found on US subs an asset, as well as for under ice operations. Its no big deal to streamline a sail (US designers could do it any time they want), but if that makes you more detectable in a shallow environment, its actually a hinderance.
The titanium is nice, but pointlessly expensive. The ADCAP is nice and would have come about eventually too through constant modifications anyway - just like its new mod is about to come out (And there was no Alfa around to spur its redesign this time!). Get the point? Outside of the metal value on this thing, I don't think the US would even want it other than to use as a enemy signature in a wargames scenario.
-S