Satellite images raise prospect of new class of Chinese submarine

A Pentagon report in November 2021 said the Chinese Navy was likely to build a new attack submarine in the next few years

Military analysts say a vessel spotted in a Chinese shipyard in rare, recent satellite images could be a new or upgraded class of nuclear-powered attack submarine.

It is not clear whether the submarine is a new model, an upgrade of an existing vessel or something else. But diplomats and analysts have been watching closely after a Pentagon report in November 2021 said the Chinese Navy was likely to build a new attack submarine with vertical launch tubes for cruise missiles in the next few years.

Images obtained by Reuters from private satellite imagery provider Planet Labs and others circulating on social media show the submarine in a dry dock in Huludao Port in Liaoning province.

Green covers shroud areas behind its superstructure and stern—parts of the vessel that could house missile launch tubes and a new, quieter propulsion system, analysts said. Such clear images of submarines in dry dock are seldom seen.

The submarine was out of the water between April 24 and May 4, and was later seen mostly submerged in the same place after the dry dock was flooded. Singapore-based security scholar Collin Koh said there was a great deal of interest in the prospect of a new class of Chinese Type 093 “hunter-killer” submarine with vertical launch tubes for guided missiles. But he said the recent satellite images were too limited to definitively identify the vessel.

The images “are very interesting but it is still very hard to be sure yet whether we are looking at some kind of refit for testing or a whole new class of submarine,” said Mr. Koh of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Mr. Koh said he and others were watching closely to see whether new Chinese submarines would shift to quieter pump-jets instead of conventional propellers for propulsion. Because the stern is shrouded, it is not possible to tell what sort of propulsion the ship in the image uses.