Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Akula Missile Sub

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The Akula Missile Sub is the heavy submarine vessel of the Socialist Union of Voshkod. This unit is planned to be voiced by

Overview
In the the Great Voshkod-Aquilan War, the Voshkods developed several experimental ballistic missile submarines. Ships capable of launching powerful missiles from incredible distances to annihilate targets with barely any chance of retaliation. Unfortunately for the Voshkod, these prototypes were destroyed by the Aquilans. This did not however discourage them from developing the Akula-class, the spiritual successor of these subs.

Though this massive submersible is very slow, it can emerge from the depths to strike at targets anywhere, making them one of the most feared units in the Voshkod arsenal. They do not carry any defensive measures however, and are thus vulnerable when they rise above the waves or are detected. Just like Dreadnought's missiles, Akula's projectiles can be shot down with anti-air weapons.

History
"Do you hear that noise?"

-Akula Sub Captain showing his paranoia

Recent years have seen the Voshkod pursuing an aggressive policy towards all perceived threats to its waterways, including the sinking of numerous civilian cargo ships and passenger liners. Emblematic of this attitude is the Akula Missile Sub, a stealthy and deadly undersea killer that is often held up as a symbol of Voshkod aggression. For all of its notoriety, however, details about the Akula were largely a mystery until an Allied cargo ship found a Voshkod sailor adrift in open waters, kilometers from all known Voshkod naval forces.

The sailor, an illiterate peasant impressed into the Voshkod naval service, was a crewmember of the Akula Sub K-420. During regular maintenance of one of the Akula's torpedoes, he had inadvertently damaged that torpedo’s motor, preventing an attack on the undefended Allied ship. The captain, uncharacteristically calm, ordered the sailor into a loaded torpedo tube to attempt a repair before the enemy escaped. He then ejected the crippled torpedo into the ocean along with the surprised sailor, who, resigned to his fate, swam to the surface to await capture.

Based on evidence like that gleaned from the Voshkod sailor’s interrogation, Allied commanders have been piecing together the story of the Akula Sub. During its design, the Voshkod navy knew it needed an effective ship killer, but also that they would have to crew these ships with poorly trained crews, often with no maritime experience. As a result, they chose the RU-7 torpedo as the Akula's main weapon. Based on the previous generation of Voshkod torpedoes, the RU-7 is a time-tested design, reliable, effective, and easily used even by an inexperienced crew.

Voshkod commanders realized, however, that an even more powerful weapon was needed to deal with the new generation of larger, more heavily armored naval vessels, so the Akula fleet was also given the new RU-20 "supercavitating" torpedoes. Monstrous in size and power, the RU-20s give the Akula an immense destructive capability. However, their power is offset by a slow firing rate, trading a lengthy loading and firing sequence for high reliability.

However, one of the engineers could revive the concept of the old Ballistic Submarines idea from the GVAW era.

Beyond the technical specifications of the sub, the captured sailor also gave insight into life aboard an Akula. The frantic pace of Voshkod naval operations requires Akulas to stay at sea for years at a time. These long tours, in cramped quarters, skulking under tons of ocean while searching for prey, take a heavy psychological toll on the crews, and Akula captains use a heavy hand to maintain discipline and combat effectiveness. Failure is not tolerated, and reprimands are harsh. Some critics argue that these extreme conditions are detrimental to the Akulas’ ability to carry out their missions, but their overwhelming effectiveness against enemy naval forces indicates otherwise. Indeed, the price of failure seems to be the whetstone that hones both crew and sub into such a deadly weapon.

Trivia

 * In Gaiaterra, this is combination of the Red Resurrection, Mental Omega and Red Alert 3 Akula Subs. Though the design is from Mental Omega.