China’s military modernization goes beyond the aircraft carriers or new fighters. Yes, these are elements of superiority on the battlefield, also of deterrence and the country is investing a lot in modernizing and expanding its fleet, but something that they are also putting efforts is in the renewal of their submarines with nuclear capacity.
After a not very successful type 094, China is finalizing the Type 096 nuclear submarine. And, of course, they have the attention of their main rivals in a scenario reminiscent of the Cold War.
Reinforcing maritime presence. The modernization of the main military arms has become one of the main strategies of the Government of Xi Jinping. We are seeing advances in all areas, with examples such as new terrestrial armament, development of poachers, the aforementioned aircraft carriers with the electromagnetic Fujian at the head, heavy helicopters, fighters and even space weapons.
The leg that could be more lame in the Chinese Navy is that of the submarines of ballistic missiles, or SSBN for its acronym in English. Not only had few, but their designs and functioning had nothing to do with that of the most advanced powers in this context. Sample of this is type 094 of the beginning of the century.
Type 094. Seeking to close the gap with the United States and maintain a persuasive presence in the South China Sea, the country launched type 094. It is a submarine with a load capacity of nuclear propulsion ballistic missiles and was the successor of the type 092 of the mid -1980s. It is estimated that there are six active units of this submarine, but it is a ship with lights and shadows.
While their nuclear eyelets can reach the American coast from the South China Sea, the main objective of these submarines is deterrent and furtive presence (avoiding the detection of radars and enemy systems). The problem is that it is as noisy as the Soviet and American submarines of the 1970s. For a “new” submarine, it was an obvious skinny point because it made it very visible to the United States of the United States anti -submarine technologies and their allies.
And type 096. The reason for this noise is that its propulsion system is outdated (inspired by Soviet technology of the Cold War) and the design of the helmet, the propellers and the isolation system make it totally ineffective in furtive missions. China has launched more silent variants, such as type 094a, but they are still too loud. An easy target in the current anti -submarine war, goes.
That’s where type 096 enters the scene. There are six other submarines of this class with twice tons in tons and twice the capacity for ballistic missiles, but more than for its improvements for combat, what China is looking for is that it solves the predecessor problem. Thus, type 096 hopes to be as stealthy as the most modern Russian submarines. It will also be loaded with improvements in the detection of rival submarines.
Challenges. Part of the design efforts have been destined to cushion the noise of the engines, as indicated in SCMP. It is speculated that, similar to the new Russian submarines, the engines are mounted on huge rubber supports that help overshadow the sound. And it is also estimated that it will be ready by the end of this decade.
Now, although they have Russia and the portfolio in their favor, experience is a degree and, precisely, is what China is missing in SSBN. Russia and the United States have decades of experience in this area and we will have to see when type 096 enters into play if China has achieved that leap that seeks in nuclear submarine design.
Attracting looks. In Reuters, authorities and naval technical intelligence analysts estimate that “type 096 will be a nightmare.” The reason is that, according to them, “they will be very, very difficult to detect.” It is also said that Russia has shared part of its technology with China to improve that sound efficiency in its new submarine and that, although they do not think that Russia has shared its ‘crown jewels’ with China (because they would lose competitive advantage in case Something twists in the relationship), they are collaborating closely.
In the United States analyst documents, it is speculated with the implications that such a weapon will have for the United States and its Indo-Pacific allies, since the presence of a vehicle like type 096 would have “deep” implications in an area of an area of Special interest today for numerous countries. Sample is the incident in June 2023, when a type 094 emerged in the Taiwan Strait, visualizing the constant tension that is lived in the area.
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