China has launched a new submarine, which is built according to the latest revolutionary design, which is likely to be ahead of existing developments in Western countries, including the United States.
A submarine about 120 meters long with minimal sail was spotted on the quayside at the JN shipyard, owned by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). This is based on satellite images by Vantor, writes H I Sutton in Naval News.
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There is currently no information from official Beijing, so everything related to this submarine is just the assumptions of Western specialists. In general, we are talking about a submarine that, most likely, has strike functions. This is indicated by its large dimensions: 120 x 10-11 meters. It should be noted that if it were a carrier of intercontinental ballistic missiles, its dimensions would be even larger.
The new submarine has a sleek bow and X-form rudders. It is assumed that due to the absence of a traditional sail and improved hydrodynamics, this boat will have a very high speed and will be distinguished by low visibility. It is expected that it will have a nuclear power plant, although until now nuclear submarines have never been built at the JN shipyard.
It is possible that this submarine would be equipped with a new type of ‘nuclear AIP’ propulsion where a low-power reactor acts as a form of air independent power (AIP). At the same time this seems less likely than traditional nuclear power.
In any case, new shape of submarine with minimal sail is already a revolutionary approach. At the same time, the Chinese worked out this solution back in 2018, when an experimental sailless submarine 45 meters long was built at the same shipyard in Shanghai.
From the Defense Express side, we would like to note that the sail on submarines performs a number of tasks. First, it houses the mechanisms and masts of radio-electronic sensors and reconnaissance equipment. Secondly, it plays a role of a bridge (wheelhouse) during surface navigation, which provides an overview and the ability to receive cargo or personnel without the risk of seawater entering during rough seas. However, the sail increases the resistance of the submarine and makes it more visible on sonar.
It should be noted that new for Chinese shipyards is the use of X-formed rudders, which allow for more aggressive maneuvers by simultaneously controlling all four surfaces. It also allows for greater speed, reduces noise, but this design is much more complex.
In general, we can conclude that the new unknown Chinese submarine has very characteristic features that indicate that it is a submarine hunter, which has low visibility and high speed. Due to this, this submarine can effectively hunt enemy submarines. However, it is currently unknown whether this solution will become a serial project or remains an experiment - this can only be found out after some time.
As Defense Express reported, China Built New Zubr-Class Landing Craft After Acquiring Four Units From Ukraine in 2000s. We also wrote on how How China Modernized a russian Destroyer With Fully Domestic Systems.
Read more: How China Modernized a russian Destroyer With Fully Domestic Systems
