China's New Stealth Submarines Will Be Even Harder To Find, Analyst Says

A Great Wall 236 submarine of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, billed by Chinese state media as a new type of conventional submarine, participates in a naval parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of China's PLA Navy in the sea near Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong province on April 23, 2019. China's new Type-039C Yuan Class will be hard to find.

© MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AFP via Getty

The latest iteration of China's Yuan class of submarine will include a subtle advancement that could make it much harder to find, according to an analysis published this month in Naval News.

The diesel-electric boat, designated the Type 039C, is designed to increase its survivability against active sonar, said open-source analyst H.I. Sutton, who noted its new stealth sail, tailored to reduce the submarine's signal strength on enemy radars.

Newsweek

China's New Stealth Submarines Will Be Even Harder To Find, Analyst Says

The update to the People's Liberation Army Navy's Yuan class submarine is among several naval projects undertaken by the Chinese military amid a rapid modernization drive under President Xi Jinping.

Xi, who began his second decade atop the Communist Party's leadership this month, has called for a comprehensive upgrade of China's armed forces to turn the PLA into a "world-class" military by the middle of the century.

The vessel's stealth sail—angled in shape—was first spotted in May 2021. Its ability to evade detection represents a strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific region's crowded and contested waters.

It reflected a broader trend in naval warfare that was also being pursued by other countries, Sutton said. Sweden's next-generation A-26 or Blekinge-class submarine and Germany's upcoming Type 212CD used similar design principles.

According to Sutton, the Type 212CD boat took it further by encasing the entire submarine in an angled outer hull despite its increased drag—a trade-off Germany seemed prepared to accept.

China's Type 039C, however, is the only such design currently in the water.

Sutton's report said the new Chinese submarine design could counter medium-frequency sonars, complicating enemy classification of the vessel and causing advantageous delays or miscalculations.

He said the submarine's echo-reducing coating could also provide further protection against short wavelength sonars, such as those found on torpedoes.

The Pentagon's latest assessment believes the new Yuan class will be ready by the end of the decade.

Additionally, also set for an appearance by 2030, is China's latest Type 096 class of nuclear ballistic missile submarines.

The boat is expected to pose a significant challenge to U.S. and allied efforts to track them, with advances in quietness partly attributed to Russian technology, according to research published in August by the China Maritime Studies Institutes at the U.S. Naval War College.

"The Type 096s are going to be a nightmare," retired submariner and naval intelligence analyst Christopher Carlson told The Japan Times earlier this month.

The United States will balance China's upcoming naval capabilities with initiatives such as AUKUS, the trilateral security pact, and the technology-sharing agreement with the U.K. and Australia.

Under the partnership, Britain's Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy are set to field new nuclear-powered but conventionally armed AUKUS boats by the early 2040s.

Canberra will acquire American-made Virginia-class fast attack submarines while it waits.