Los Angeles-class boats supply the numbers and endurance for operations toward the Barents Sea, joined by Royal Navy SSNs. Their task is offensive: threaten Soviet submarines and force defenders to protect the bastions. Diesel-electric submarines such as the Ocelot class are better suited to ambush duty around the GIUK Gap. A stationary SSK can shut down machinery that a nuclear boat must keep circulating, exploiting near-silent operation in a known choke point even though it lacks an SSN's oceanic endurance.
Notable Point · 1:27:16-1:31:18
Los Angeles boats attack forward while diesel boats guard the gap
NATO nuclear submarines provide the offensive force toward Soviet waters, while quieter diesel-electric boats wait in defensive choke points.