Red October (fictional submarine) Red October (fictional submarine) Red October (, , "Krasniy Oktyabr") is a modified "Typhoon" class submarine in Tom Clancy's novel "The Hunt for Red October" and the film of the same name. It was built with a revolutionary stealth propulsion system called a "caterpillar drive", which is described as a pump-jet system in the book. In the film however, it is shown as being a magnetohydrodynamic drive. The drama of the story partially centers around the dual capabilities of this submarine. As a submarine of the Typhoon class, it carries many ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads. With a stealthy
The Hunt for Red October are many deviations, including "Red October" traveling up the Penobscot River in Maine to dry dock, and the "caterpillar drive" being described as a magnetohydrodynamic drive system, essentially, "a jet engine for the water". The film received mainly positive reviews from critics, holding an 87% rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 66 reviews. It was the 6th top-grossing film of the year, generating $122 million in North America and more than $200 million worldwide in box office. In a 1991 interview, Clancy remarked of the film's success: "It was reasonably true to the spirit of the book, although the movie