Carl LaVO

Chinese navy offers glimpse of secretive nuclear-attack submarine

Douglas Ernst, The Washington Times
23 June 2016
China’s navy has allowed the world a brief glimpse of one of its most secretive military platforms ever — the 093B “Shang” nuclear attack submarine.
An official image of the communist nation’s stealth submarine was released this month, which gives experts the ability to see how it compares to older models. The picture was released just weeks after the Pentagon published its annual report on the military might of the People's Republic
of China.
“The biggest [improvement] is the installation of a vertical launch system battery behind the conning tower, which can be seen in a hydrodynamic hump blended into the hull,” Popular Science first reported Thursday. “The VLS cell gives the Type 093B an advantage over older Chinese attack submarines since instead of launching cruise missiles from
the torpedo tubes, it can more quickly launch
missiles from the VLS. The larger size of VLS cells also makes them a good place to launch future underwater robots and UAVs.”
Aspects of the submarine that are similar to the American Virginia class SSN include its conned tower and flared base. The website surmised that its base will reduce hydrodynamic drag and noise at certain speeds.
“There are also large installation mounts on the hull sides for side-mounted active sonar that will sweep for both surface warships and submarines,” the website reported.
Chinese officials were furious last month when the Pentagon released a 156-page report detailing Beijing’s military spending, its various weapons platforms, and activities in the contested waters of the South China Sea.
“China demonstrated a willingness to tolerate higher levels of tension in the pursuit of its interests, especially in pursuit of its territorial claims in the East and South China Sea; however, China still seeks to avoid direct and explicit conflict with the United States,” the report said. “In the long term, Chinese leaders are focused on developing the capabilities they deem necessary to deter or defeat adversary
power projection and counter third-party — including U.S. — intervention during crisis or conflict. China’s modernization is producing capabilities that have the potential to reduce core
U.S. military technological advantages.”
China’s Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told state news agency Xinhua on May 15 that the U.S. report “severely damaged mutual trust” between the two nations.
Mr. Yang also called the report “deliberately
distorted.”
Experts estimate China’s military spending in 2015 was roughly $145 billion.