Soviet and American Militaries

One of the ongoing commentaries of the novel is the detailed description of the Soviet and American submarines. These submarines represent the larger differences in the Soviet and American military systems, including the technology, personnel, and the personal responsibility of individual members of the Soviet military.

The technology of both submarines is compared in detail. The silent propulsion system of the Red October is intended to be the most sophisticated system for avoiding detection. While it works with all the other Soviet submarines, the Americans on the Dallas are able to detect it after a lot of skilled labor. The discussion of the silent propulsion system in the Pentagon points to an American model of a similar system that was never built. The reasons that the American version was never built provide clues to the potential problems that the Red October has with the...