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China Is Developing a Secret Revolutionary Submarine or the World's Largest Underwater Combat Drone

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China Is Developing a Secret Revolutionary Submarine or the World's Largest Underwater Combat Drone

China has constructed a secret submarine at the same shipyard that produced the JARI USV unmanned stealth trimaran and is currently building amphibious barge bridges for a potential invasion of Taiwan

This new submarine is notable for its lack of a traditional sail structure, a key feature of conventional submarines. Due to this, some analysts speculate that it might actually be an underwater combat drone—the largest of its kind in the world.

This conclusion comes from naval analyst HI Sutton, writing for Naval News, after analyzing satellite images. The images reveal the construction of a classified submarine at a shipyard in Guangzhou, which had not previously been involved in submarine manufacturing.

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According to Defense Express, the shipyard in question is most likely Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI), located on Longxue Island, south of the city. Supporting this theory is the presence of an experimental stealth trimaran in the satellite images. This vessel, unveiled at Airshow China in late 2024 under the name Orca (also known as JARI USV), was built at this very shipyard.

The new submarine has moderate dimensions—approximately 45 meters in length and 5 meters in width. Aside from the absence of a sail, one of its defining features is its X-shaped rudders, which likely enhance stealth capabilities. Notably, this is China’s second submarine without a sail; the first, built in 2018, was an unarmed experimental model measuring 50 meters in length.

Whether this submarine is unmanned remains a topic of debate. Some experts argue that if it were a drone, it would be unusually large, even if designed for torpedo-based armament. However, it is still smaller than conventional diesel-electric submarines. For comparison, russian Project 636 Varshavyanka-class submarines are 74 meters long and 10 meters wide.

Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) on Longxue Island
Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) on Longxue Island

One leading theory suggests that this submarine is manned but optimized for shallow-water operations or special seabed missions. Another possibility is that it serves as a transportable deep-diving vehicle, similar to the russian Losharik (AS-12), which operates alongside larger carrier submarines like the Orenburg (BS-136) or Belgorod (K-329).

Given that the same shipyard built the JARI USV trimaran—an officially autonomous naval drone that also has an optional piloting mode—it is possible that this new submarine follows a similar hybrid design.

JARI USV is a fully operational combat vessel with a displacement of 420 tons. It is equipped with a 30mm cannon, eight vertical launch cells for anti-ship or surface-to-air missiles, a helicopter UAV, and an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for 360-degree surveillance.

Orca, also known as JARI USV
Orca, also known as JARI USV

The development of JARI USV involved four major Chinese research institutions: Institute 716, Institute 702, the Jiangsu Automation Research Institute, and the China Ship Scientific Research Center. It is likely that this new submarine is also an experimental high-tech project.

Meanwhile, at Guangzhou Shipyard International, China is constructing special amphibious barge bridges for a potential invasion of Taiwan. These structures resemble the Mulberry harbors used by Allied forces during World War II.

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