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Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviet Navy made use of a variety of advanced technologies on its submarines in an attempt to close the gap with its NATO counterparts. Among the most advanced designs were the Alfa class interceptor submarines. They were highly automated, allowing the submarine to be operated by a crew of around 30 officers. They also featured titanium hulls and lead cooled nuclear reactors, allowing for superior maximum operating depths and top speeds relative to their NATO counterparts, which relied on steel hulls and pressurized water reactors. Lastly, the submarines were equipped with the VA-111 Shkval supercavitating torpedoes, capable of traveling at 200+ knots. While there were flaws with the designs, such as the requirement to constantly idle the reactor to prevent coolant solidification, and the tremendous noise that would be generated at 40+ knots, the Alfa class and related designs were very advanced and very expensive. They were also more dangerous, as the Soviet Navy placed a greater priority on performance than NATO, which could afford to be more conservative due to its technological lead in several key areas.

In response to the development of the Alfa class, NATO largely responded by simply fielding more advanced torpedoes. The United States Navy fielded the Mark 48 torpedo, while the Royal Navy developed the all-new Spearfish. However, what if the decision had been made to begin moving towards more advanced submarines in order to preserve the advantage enjoyed by NATO? What might such submarines have been like?
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