The Hunt for Red October (film) nuclear missile submarine with a stealth "caterpillar drive", rendering it undetectable to passive sonar. Ramius leaves port to conduct exercises with attack submarine "V. K. Konovalov", commanded by his former student Captain Tupolev. Once at sea, Ramius secretly kills political officer Ivan Putin and relays false orders that they are to conduct missile drills off America's east coast. At the same time, American attack submarine "USS Dallas", tasked with identifying and shadowing Soviet subs as they leave port, detects "Red October" as it begins its mission, but immediately loses track of it once the caterpillar drive is engaged. The next
The Hunt for Red October Reagan had pronounced the book, which was given to him as a Christmas gift, as “the perfect yarn” and “unputdownable”; his endorsement eventually boosted the novel's sales and solidified Clancy's reputation as a bestselling author. Regarding the reception, Clancy remarked: “I was thunderstruck, dumbfounded, bowled over, amazed. But I wasn't surprised." In addition, the novel was a big hit in the White House. "The Hunt for Red October" was also popular among the military. On a 1985 visit to the , Clancy discovered 26 copies of the novel among the crew. "The Washington Post", in its original review, praised the