https://www.eurasiantimes.com/pla-navys ... a-reaches/
PLA Navy’s ‘Sharks’ Get Stealthier, China On Verge Of Producing ‘World-Class’ Nuclear Submarines – US Naval War College
Ritu Sharma, August 21, 2023
It is well known that the Chinese Navy has numerical supremacy over the navies of other countries. However, a recently released report says that after five decades since it inducted its first nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarine (SSN), the People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) is on the verge of producing “world-class” nuclear submarines with its propulsion, quieting, sensors and weapons capabilities approaching that of Russian Akula -I class SSN.
Acoustic stealth is one of the salient attributes of modern submarines. The quietness of the design is seldom revealed, but the assumption can be safely made that Chinese submarines are increasingly becoming stealthier.
The report released by the US Naval War College assesses that this giant leap in technology will have “profound implications” for US undersea security.
China began its nuclear submarine program in July 1958 when Mao Zedong and the Central Military Commission (CMC) authorized the “09 Project.” As China lacked the required industrial capability, it persisted in seeking help from the erstwhile USSR. After being rebuffed several times, Mao issued the decree that China would proceed on a path of self-reliance in developing nuclear submarines.
After years of development, the first nuclear submarine, Type 091 (Han-class), was commissioned on August 1, 1974. It was in the mid-1990s that China was able to obtain submarines from a cash-strapped Russia.
The process of “imitative innovation” took some time as Chinese engineers learned how to duplicate and then improve the technologies they had purchased. But the time-consuming process meant that “the existing Type 093 and 094 submarine hulls were just too small to take full advantage of the technology that had been developed”.
The Type 091 SSN was the first-generation nuclear-powered submarine of the PLA-N. The second-generation submarines in the PLA-N fleet are the Type 093A Shang-II class. These 7,000-tonne nuclear-powered boats make up most of the Chinese Navy’s fleet. They are roughly the size of the Royal Navy’s Astute class submarines.
The Shang-class submarines are built by China Shipbuilding Industry (CSIC) at its Bohai Shipyard in Huludao, Liaoning Province, China. A total of six Shang-class submarines, including Shang I class SSNs (Type 093), Shang II class SSNs (Type 093A), and Shang III class SSNs (Type 093B), are in service with the PLAN. The Type 093A and Type 093B SSNs are improved versions of the Type 093 submarine.
It has been speculated that China may be building a variant with a vertical launch system (VLS) for land-attack cruise missiles. Before the mighty third-generation, Type-95 Sui Class enters service, a cruise missile variant of the Shang missile helps in proving the technology.
In early 2023, satellite images revealed that China launched the 8th Type 093 Shang-class SSNs between 13 and 18 January 2023. The land attack capability would help them to engage targets on land, much like Russian submarines have done in Ukraine.
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Gautam
