The Hunt for Red October vessel. It is equipped with a cutting-edge silent propulsion system, known as the caterpillar drive, that makes audio detection by passive sonar extremely difficult and enables the submarine to sneak its way into American offshore waters and launch nuclear missiles with little or no warning. As the ship leaves the shipyard at Polyarny, Ramius kills Ivan Putin, his political officer, to ensure that he will not interfere with the defection. Initially, Ramius was instructed to conduct military exercises with Soviet attack submarine "V. K. Konovalov", commanded by his former student Viktor Tupolev, for the purpose of testing the effectiveness of
The Hunt for Red October (film) "Red October", guesses his former mentor's route and sets a course to intercept. The Soviet fleet's intentions are unknown to the U.S., although their orders are to sink "Red October". Due to the actions of an unknown saboteur, "Red October"s caterpillar drive fails during risky maneuvers through a narrow undersea canyon. Petty Officer Jones, a sonar technician aboard "Dallas", has discovered a way to detect "Red October" using underwater acoustics, and plots an intercept course. Ryan arranges a hazardous mid-ocean rendezvous to board "Dallas", where he attempts to persuade its captain, Commander Bart Mancuso, to contact Ramius and determine his