An Oscar can pose a severe missile threat once it reaches a launch position, yet reactor noise makes it easier to detect when it increases speed. An Akula escort could try to keep British and American attack submarines away while the missile boat approaches. That solution competes with the Akulas' task of defending strategic bastions, and the class was never available in large numbers. Much of its construction was completed after 1990. After considering the remaining nuclear force, the proposed escort solution is withdrawn because too few suitable boats appear available to spare for it. Doubts about the operational condition of older submarines reinforce the distinction between a hull still listed in the fleet and a boat ready for this mission.
Notable Point · 1:22:09-1:25:56
Why Russia lacks enough submarines to escort its SSGNs
Oscar-class missile submarines are dangerous in firing position, but reactor noise and the decline of Russian attack-boat numbers make it difficult to escort them there.