The Hunt for Red October

An A-10 Thunderbolt, or Warthog, piloted by a member of the Maryland Air National Guard is flying toward the Kirov to issue a warning. The pilot flies low over the Kirov and locks on with his weapon system. The political officer on the Kirov is angry and wants the commander to respond to the American’s actions, but the commander refuses. About the same time, the Dallas locates the submarine with the silent drive system and follows it.

The chief engineer on Red October discovers the source of the reactor leak: a minuscule hole in a water test valve. He repairs it while stressing to Svyadov the brilliance of the saboteur and his hope that the saboteur doesn’t come up with another strategy.

The Dallas comes to a complete stop as the Soviet submarine in front of it pulls a maneuver called a “Crazy Ivan” (387) and makes a complete turn to check for vessels behind them. The maneuver ends, and the Dallas does not see any indication that the Soviet submarine knows they are there. The Dallas surfaces to send a message to the Commander of the Submarine Force in the Atlantic (COMSUBLANT) that they are still following a Soviet submarine with an unusual propulsion system.