Posted by The movie Hunter Killer may not be inspired by a true story, but the USS Arkansas submarine is real – or better, it will be soon.
Hunter Killer is a 2018 movie starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman. It was added to Netflix’s offer in the USA in December 2023, and it’s one of those films that makes you want to find a VPN and use an alternative email generator to view it. The plot follows the adventure of the US Navy on the verge of World War III against Russia after a military coup removed the Russian President from power. Consequently, most of the action occurs inside a classified American submarine, the USS Arkansas, nicknamed the “Hunter Killer.” Obviously, viewers had an easy question: is the USS Arkansas real?
First, it’s worth mentioning that the movie Hunter Killer is not based on a true story: the inspiration comes from the novel Firing Point, published by Don Keith and George Wallace in 2012. Moreover, the submarine in the book is called USS Toledo. However, the movie production changed its name to USS Arkansas, making the story more authentic. Indeed, a USS Arkansas nuclear submarine is in the construction phase and will be part of the US Navy as soon as it’s ready.
The USS Arkansas submarine is a Virginia class fast attack submarines officially ordered in 2014. The Virginia class is the most advanced category of submarines, and the US Navy already has 19 units belonging to that category in commission. The technology available in a Virginia-class submarine is described in this article on the website Naval Technology: it’s described as “an advanced stealth multimission nuclear-powered submarine for deep ocean anti-submarine warfare and littoral (shallow water) operations.”
The movie Hunter Killer was committed to showing how an actual war action would feel from inside a real submarine. Director Donovan Marsh was allowed by the U.S. Department of Defense to enter the USS Annapolis, an American submarine belonging to the Los Angeles class, the one that the Virginia class would soon replace. USA Today reported Marsh’s experience with the US Navy in this extensive article, giving us a close point of view on how the director worked for the movie.
In conclusion, the USS Arkansas submarine portrayed in the movie Hunter Killer is real, and it’s currently in the construction phase: the film is not based on a true story, but the action and the elements in the plot are so realistic because they are based on how a real warfare action would look. You can find here the Wikipedia page of the USS Arkansas submarine under construction, and here is another overview of the features it will have.
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