Red October (fictional submarine) the "Red October" adventure proved useful to Ryan's career. In later books, Ryan is able to use his heroism in obtaining the submarine as a lever with which to force a threatening KGB Secretary to defect to the U.S. against his will (in the novel "The Cardinal of the Kremlin"), ending the possibility of a Kremlin coup against a politically centrist Soviet government. Years later the truth of these events comes to light when political opponents of then-President Jack Ryan reveals his part in the affair. By this time in the early 1990s, the Soviet Union has collapsed and the
The Hunt for Red October deduces Ramius's plans. The U.S. military reluctantly agrees, while planning for contingencies in case the Soviet fleet has intentions other than those inferred. After it is revealed that Ramius has informed Moscow of his plan for him and his officers to defect, Ryan becomes responsible for shepherding Ramius and his vessel away from the pursuing Soviet fleet, and meets with an old Royal Navy acquaintance, Admiral John White, commanding a task force from the aircraft carrier . In order to convince the Soviets that "Red October" has been destroyed, the U.S. Navy rescues her crew after Ramius fakes a reactor