"Sir, We Lost a Nuclear Armed Submarine": Russia's Titanium Mike-Class Sub Disaster

Summary and Key Points: The K-278 Komsomolets, the only Soviet Mike-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, launched in 1983 and sank in 1989. It highlighted two Western fears: Soviet technological superiority and the risk of losing nuclear weapons.

-The Mike-class submarine, with its titanium hull, could dive deeper and operate more quietly than its counterparts.

-However, it sank in the Barents Sea with two nuclear warhead-tipped torpedoes, raising concerns about the safety and potential retrieval of Soviet nuclear weapons.