Submarine anti-aircraft missiles and disputed Soviet installations

Why did Soviet submarines carry or experiment with surface-to-air missiles?

As a last resort against aircraft that had already detected them, although the claimed submerged-launch installations and their service status remain uncertain.

Firing a missile can disclose a submarine's position, so concealment normally offers the better defence against aircraft. Clarke recalls a Soviet skipper who would use the weapon only after being firmly detected, hoping to escape while the aircraft reacted. Another participant distinguishes surface-carried Igla weapons from a missile that could fire while the submarine remained submerged, and questions whether the latter ever entered service. The shallow-launch claim is then associated with some Yankee-class boats, whose missile-launch depth and operations near the United States could leave them vulnerable to aircraft. Possible adaptations to individual Kilo-class boats remain a recollection whose service status cannot be confirmed. Part of the account comes from remembered conversations with Soviet-era officers and naval architects, and the precise installations remain uncertain.