Kilo Class

and equality with the West. And they seek to end Taiwan’s present independence and return it to Greater China.

It ought not to be forgotten that when Chiang Kaishek left the mainland for Taiwan, he dispatched fourteen trainloads of magnificent artifacts and historic documents containing almost the entire dynastic heritage of China. Which is, broadly, why the great museum in Taipei is reputed to be the finest in the world.

Chinese determination to bring Taiwan back into the fold ought not to be underestimated. The order for the Kilos was, in my view, one of the first significant moves toward one of their ultimate goals.

First, they would close the strait to international passage. Then, as the submarine force built up in size, experience, confidence, and reputation, they would extend their patrol areas farther offshore, at once threatening the approaches to the island of Taiwan.

These patrol areas would ultimately extend up to five hundred miles offshore, wherever shallower waters favored the Kilos. Such a presence would greatly restrict US Naval protection for the Taiwanese, for whom an unavoidable sense of isolation would set in. Remember, submarines are best at sinking surface ships; the lesson of the Thomas Jefferson ought not to be ignored. The Kilo that nailed her did not stalk the carrier. It was just lying in wait, hardly moving, virtually silent, an explosive hole in the water.

With just four of these little Russian diesels on continuous patrol, China could swiftly show the Taiwan Strait no longer offered safe passage in international waters. The strait would actually become a no-go area. And clearing them out would be a long and very costly military operation, even if political considerations allowed. With a few more Kilos in place, Taiwan’s days as an independent nation could be numbered.

The United States has enormous financial interests in the island, which has in the last thirty years turned itself into one of the world’s major trading centers. I believe the United States would take very strong measures against any threat to that trade. In Kilo Class, the United States is prepared to do just that. And I doubt Patrick Robinson and I are all that wide of the mark.

Once on patrol, the Kilo is the devil’s own job to find and kill, even with the amazing air, surface, and subsurface assets of the US Navy. Simple logic will dictate that the Kilos are better caught and destroyed when they are far from home, before they are operationally ready, before they can be delivered.

Russia is presently refusing even to discuss putting a ban on the sale of major warships to China, or anywhere else for that matter. In the winter of 1997, they delivered a third Kilo to Iran, under a Russian flag, escorted by a Russian warship, as accurately forecast in Nimitz Class.

I also noticed that on page 94 of the 1997-98 edition of Jane’s Fighting Ships, the bible of the world’s Navies, the Russians are actually running a two-page color spread advertising their top export warship — beneath the headline: “KILO CLASS SUBMARINE—the only soundless creature in the sea.”

They then provide the St. Petersburg address, phone, fax, and E-mail for RUBIN, their central design bureau for marine engineering.

The West must give serious thought to this new aggressive marketing of the updated version of the old Soviet diesel-electric boat. And also to the new relationship between China and Russia. Because the men from Beijing are already Moscow’s biggest customers for newly built submarines.

I believe that Kilo Class is uncomfortably close to reality in its assessment of the intentions of all three of the big players. China wants Taiwan. Russia is desperate for cash and will sell a Kilo Class boat to anyone with $300 million. The United States cannot tolerate a serious threat to the continued independence of Taiwan. Speculation as to who will do what is the theme of this book.

Patrick has turned that theme into another page-turning thriller. The book is wracked with tension and punctuated by spectacular adventures, as Admiral Arnold Morgan’s men go to work in a variety of deep lonely waters. Far up in the North Atlantic, under the polar ice cap, off the frozen coastline of Siberia, even in the great lakes of central Russia north of the Volga. And, finally, around the frozen, barren island of Kerguelen, a place so remote, so rarely visited, it might not be inaccurate to describe it as the end of the world.

If you enjoyed Nimitz Class I believe you will love this book. Patrick Robinson, who helped me turn my own biography into a best-seller, has again written of complex matters in an easy, compelling style which can be understood by anyone…and should be read by everyone.

— Sandy Woodward

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR

KILO CLASS

“Spectacular…. U.S. subs are sinking seven ultraquiet Russian ones that have been sold to the Chinese to aid in their takeover of the sea lanes around Taiwan. Now, China’s xenophobic military find their beautiful new subs with their nuclear-tipped torpedoes disappearing into abyssal darkness and utter silence. Sound good? You’re right, and it deserves wide sales to the technothriller crowd.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Robinson delivers a wild ride all the way.”

— Booklist

“A superb read.”

— Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA

“A techno-thriller of the highest quality.”

— North County News, Phoenix, MD

“An absolutely marvelous thriller…A white-knuckle of action and suspense that could become reality tomorrow.”

— Royal Navy Sailing Association Journal

“A fascinating and gripping read.”

— Warships Internation Fleet Review

“This exciting thriller has a chilling tinge of reality…A highly feasible and prescient tale.”

— Focus

NIMITZ CLASS

“Action follows action with menace piled on mystery on top of intrigue. Nimitz Class is a stunner that irresistibly hurtles the reader through explosions and deceptions from the first page to the exciting climax on the last.”

— Clive Cussler

“An absolutely marvelous thriller, one of the best things of its kind I have read in years. I don’t need to urge people to read it, because they will do so by the millions.”

— Jack Higgins

“The best military thriller since The Hunt for Red October…. Robinson has crafted a fast-paced, chilling, yet believable tale, peppered with unforgettable characters.”

— San Francisco Examiner

“A perfect nautical thriller: suspenseful, exciting, technically accurate, and plausible enough to be unnerving. For sailors and non-sailors alike, it is the can’t-put-down geomilitary yarn for this summer’s reading.”

— Dallas Morning News