Impact
Liras, as with almost all other nuclear submarines, were never actually used in combat and did not perform any important tasks except power demonstration. However, the Soviet government still made good use of them, by exaggerating the planned number of vessels, which were assumed to allow naval superiority to be gained by shadowing major ship groups and destroying them in case of war. The US replied by starting the ADCAP program, and the British Royal Navy the Spearfish torpedo program, to create torpedoes with the range, speed, and intelligence to reliably pursue Lira class submarines.
The Liras were intended to be only the first of a new generation of light, fast submarines, and before their decommissioning, there was already a family of derivative designs, including Project 705D, armed with long-range 650 mm torpedoes, and the Project 705A ballistic missile variant that was intended be able to defend herself successfully against attack submarines, therefore not needing patrolled bastions. However, the main thrust of Russian/Soviet SSN development was instead focused toward the larger, quieter boats that eventually became the Akula.
The technologies and solutions developed, tested, and perfected on Lira formed the foundation for future designs. The suite of submarine control systems was later used in Akula, or Project 971 attack submarines that have a crew of 50, more than Lira but still less than half as many as other attack submarines. The Akula class submarines represent a hybrid of the Lira and Victor III classes, combining the stealth and towed sonar array of the Victor III with the automation of the Lira.
Read more about this topic: Alfa Class Submarine
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