About your new boat

So whats my boat going to be like?

Depending on which boat you choose you will find that the Akula and kilo
are very different, for starters the kilo will never have the speed the
Akula does and it wont have the range or submerged endurance.

The Kilo S.S.K

This submarine began life in the 1980s and has under gone radical
changes inside but it has remained virtually the same on the outside.
The kilo is by far the quietest of any Russian submarine until the new
lada amur class becomes operational, it is also one of the most popular
export submarines in the world to date India has ten with more on order
china has at least six with more on order Algeria and Romania have one
and Poland also, its a cheap and cheerful submarine and also seen as good
value for money.

The kilo lacks the advanced waterfall displays and the towed array sonar
which the modern western submarines have, they are also still
conventional powered which means every so often they must come to
periscope depth to schnorkel and re charge the batteries, unlike a lot of
western submarines which use fuel cell and air independent propulsion
(A.I.P).

The kilo was designed as a medium range attack submarine basically
designed for littoral and costal waters but with the ability to venture out
to sea if necessary.

Your kilo comes in two variants Project 636 and project 877 Both are the
same inside however the project 636 is the more up-to-date and is known
as the improved kilo.

The kilo has six 21 inch or 533mm torpedo tubes which can be fired up to
a depth of around 230 meters the improved and Chinese variants can
carry SS-N-15 starfish ASROC missiles (ASROC means ant submarine
rocket)


The kilo is slow compared with the Akula she can manage just 20 knots
flat out, but this is where you eat the battery at flank speed the battery
will last just over one hour before you need to re charge it, many kilo
captains stay at 3 to 5 knots to conserve battery power, if your cautious
you may be able to get anything up to 36 hours from it.

The Kilo in real life has two periscopes one for navigation and one for
attacking, however only the attack scope is modelled, one feature to note
is that the scope is smaller than the akulas and also lacks night vision
capability and MIDAS (Mine and Ice Detection Avoidance System).
The reason the kilo does not have MIDAS is because its not designed
to venture under ice nor become stuck in a mine field choke point its
primary role is to defend the coast line.

The lack of towed array sonar gives the kilo a disadvantage, on most
nuclear submarines and also now conventional submarines the towed array
is the most important part of any sonar kit, a thin wire trailing more than
a mile behind the submarine giving 360 degree coverage of a battle area.

The kilo can manage 20 knots at full speed submerged and is capable of
diving to a depth of 330 meters however at 340 meters the submarine
will crush.

What weapons does the kilo use ?

The non improved kilos have no ability to fire anti submarine missiles or
any missile, however the weapons the kilo can carry are as follows:

Test 71M conventional torpedo
USET 80 conventional torpedo
53cm and also 53-65K and KE torpedo
UUV and SLMM
SS-N-15 starfish (Kilo improved only)








So whats the Akula like then?

The Akula is nuclear powered and can stay submerged for long periods of
time, she doesnt need to surface nor schnorkel she is totally independent
of the surface, and also with nuclear power she has the ability to cruise
the world at full speed.

Built in the 1980s the akulas bought Russia en par with America, the
improved variants are quieter than the U.S.N main attack submarine the
Los Angeles class (688 and 688i).

The Akula is also the most heavily armed SSN in the world carrying
fourteen torpedo tubes compared to the 4 on the American Los Angeles
and 8 on the seawolf.
However four of these are 26 inc or 650mm torpedo tubes for wire
guided 65cm torpedoes the other four internal tubes are standard
533mm or 21 inch tubes, the other six are 533mm external tubes and
once fired cannot be reloaded.

The Akula was designed for under ice missions her streamlined hull and
sleek sail and also bow mounted planes makes surfacing under the ice
easier and also safer, as with sail mounted planes can be damaged.

The Akula has many different sonar systems on board such as the MGK
503M sphere and hull array sonar which has a larger detection range than
the 688i does, in comparison the 688i can detect a submarine up to
12,000 yards the Akula can detect a submarine up to a distance of 16,000
yards, the Akula has also got a very sensitive SKAT 3M towed array
which has a range of 21,000 yards.
The SKAT 3M is classified as a palamida array.
To pick up contacts I personally use the SKAT 3M towed array unless
the contact is biological or a surface vessel, to which I classify is with
the bow (Spherical) and hull arrays (wide aperture array) on my broad
band system.

You will notice that on the rear of your submarine there is a pod unless
your K335 Gepard, this is housing your towed sonar array unlike the
American submarines this submarine has just one so you need to be
careful with it.








What weapons can I use?

The Akula can fire missiles and also rocket propelled torpedos this is a
rough list as to what you can load out on your submarine.
53cm and also 53-65 conventional torpedos
65cm torpedo wire guided
Skhval rocket torpedo
SS-N-16 stallion ASROC
SS-N-27 ASW ASUW and Land attack variants
SLMM and UUV

You will find the Akula has a kick when you notch up from 1/3 to flank the
OK-550B reactor gives out 35,000SHP and can get you from 0 knots to
33 knots in just under 2 minuets.

The Akula is capable of diving to 570 meters however she will crush at
around 580 meters, the Akula I improved can travel at a top speed of
33knots the Akula II can travel up to 35knots unless of course your
emergency blowing at flank (I have hit 72knots doing this).

The Akula doesnt really have any major flaws or disadvantages however
the seawolf class is by far more advanced than the Akula and to a point
so is the 688i, the Akula is not as quiet as the seawolf and can be
detected by it easily so in this game its normally he who makes a noise
first, dies first.

Whats the status of these submarines?

Despite being some of the best submarines around the time has come to
start saying goodbye to them, of the 24 kilos built for Russian use today
just 12 remain active and 8 remained laid up in reserve and the other 4
are waiting to be scrapped or sold.

The first batch of akulas are due to be withdrawn by 2012 the first two
submarines have been mothballed however plans are underway of either
re activating them or scrapping them, they will eventually be replaced by
the new project 885 sevdvinsk class.




Some basic tactics

Crazy Ivan:
This tactic is mainly used by old soviet skippers however I have no
doubt that its still used today.
This tactic is where you slow down to almost dead stop then all of a
sudden speed up to around 24 knots turn 180 degrees slow down again and
then do the exact same thing to cover 360 degrees.
(note collisions are common when this tactic is performed)

Active weapon evasion:
A simple yet effective method for evading active incoming torpedoes,
when you know a torpedo may have an acquisition range of anything
between 2,000 and 6,000 yards you know that you can out turn it.
The best thing to do when you get a T.I.W warning (torpedo in the
water) go below the layer if you can and turn at a 90 to 110 degree angle
and head towards the torpedo as closing the distance could mean making
the torpedo go past before it arms, also when turning launch active
counter measures only and launch again when you turn.



Six minuet rule:
Take the speed of any object in the water in knots multiply by 2 then add
two zeros at the end this is the distance in yards that this target has
travelled.


Ice burg To ice Cube:
A good tactic for use under ice, this time your at 25 meters and have
been fired upon you need to look for a ice burg and fast you can speed up
to 8 knots once you find the jagged ice launch two countermeasures
underneath it then do your standard evasion manoeuvre.
7/10 if the torpedo doesnt go for the countermeasures it will probably
hit the ice its not fool proof you do get some smart torpedoes these days.

Blind mans bluff:
Fire three SS-N-16 or 27 missiles in three random spot on the map,
chances are once the pings start an inexperienced skipper will hit the gas
and run to flank and then you have got him.
How ever an experienced skipper may not do that he would rather sit
and wait so a good tactic on a new skipper only.

Wild fish
Fire two torpedos both 90 degrees in opposite directions I.e. one going
to your stern and one to your bow then once they are around 3,000 or so
yards apart turn them towards the enemy and when they close engage
them, this can only be done using wire guided torpedoes, a good skipper
will fire right down the middle of the two torpedoes so be careful.

The best of the best
In the Moskoyo Flota (northern fleet) prizes are awarded to the best
ships in the fleet most notable of these is Kursk and Tula each year a
submarine is awarded this.

So whats stopping you being Subsims best of the best? Nothing what so
ever in mp mode make competitions best skipper of the year or month
then see who has got the balls to take on the best.
Well in my game Im the best because I have the best sub and best
crew and best weapons if you think that you will go far, start saying oh
well he can go faster deeper etc. you will loose the adrenalin rush and
cause you to lack certain judgment which is not good when fighting a Sea
wolf or 688I.