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from https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/02/new-unreported-submarine-in-china-leaves-west-guessing/

New Unreported Submarine In China Leaves West Guessing
Publié le 03/02/2025
Par H I Sutton
Dans News
New Chinese PLAN submarine
Click To Enlarge. The new submarine has a distinctive and modern look,
with no sail and large X-form rudders. Provisional illustration based on available intelligence.
China's incredible naval expansion and modernization continues. The
latest surprise is yet another new and unexplained submarine. The boat,
whose designation is unknown, has a distinctive ultra-modern layout.
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Along with the rapid building of invasion barges at Guangzhou Shipyard
in southern China, a submarine has entered the scene. The shipyard is
not known for submarine construction but the presence of the boat is
revealed in satellite imagery.

The new boat was noticed in a floating dock by defence watcher MT
Anderson. Naval News is able to confirm that this is a new and
previously unreported design.

China has, once again, surprised analysts by building a submarine in
secret. Western submarines are reported in media years before they are
even laid down. While there are always secrets surrounding their design
and capabilities, their exitance cannot be kept secret. China however
has a track record of building submarines in almost complete secrecy.
This isn’t the first, and Naval News is often the first place you can
read about these submarines. They typically do not feature in the
official submarine force estimates shared by the U.S. Government.

The New Submarine
The submarine is distinct from the recently revealed Type-041
nuclear-battery design which was launched at Wuchang Shipyard near
Wuhan. This design is smaller and likely has a different propulsion type
(not nuclear assisted), and mission. It is also different from the ‘Olympic’ submarine revealed by Naval News in February 2022.

Preliminary estimates suggest that the new submarine is around 45 meters
(148 feet) long and 5 meters (15 feet) across. The most notable features
are the large X-form rudders at the stern, and the apparent absence of a
sail. Sails are a standard feature but designers have sought ways to
eliminate them to create a more streamlined boat. China is so far the
only country to have built a sailless submarine, with one launched at
the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai in 2019.

The previous sailless submarine appears to have been purely
experimental. It did not appear to have any torpedo tubes or sonar,
required features for a warfighting boat. At first glance it appears conceivable that the new sailless submarine is a rebuild of the first.
They are similar in size and form. The original boat is accounted for
however, so we are confident that this latest boat is a newbuild design.

The X-form rudders are also novel for Chinese submarines although they
are becoming increasingly common and reflect a wider trend in submarine
design.

World’s Largest Uncrewed Submarine?
The new boat has the outward appearance of an uncrewed vessel. We expect
these types to omit the sail, since there is no crew to need an access
tower high above the waterline for use at sea. China, and indeed other
leading navies, have active programs to build extra-large uncrewed
submarines. And China’s program is the largest and most extensive with
at least 5 types in the water.

But if this is the case, and it is an XLUUV (extra-large uncrewed
underwater vehicle), then it is the largest in the world. And not by a
small margin; it is around 6-8 times larger than the U.S. Navy’s Orca XLUUV.

That China has built the world’s largest XLUUV is not inconceivable. It
has already built the largest combat uncrewed surface vessel (USV) and
seems willing to push boundaries. But if so, the question becomes why it
is so large. There is no need for crew accommodation so even the largest
XLUUVs need not be the same size as a traditional submarine. So it seems
more likely that this is a crewed boat.

The role of the new submarine remains unclear. It is smaller than
regular diesel-electric submarines, but may be particularly suitable for operations in shallow water. At the same time, it does appear to have
torpedo tubes, and possibly a towed sonar array. These features suggest
that it could be used to attack ships or submarines. An alternative
explanation is that it is designed for special forces missions, or
seabed warfare. Time may tell.

Tags
China, Submarine
Picture of H I Sutton
H I Sutton
H I Sutton writes about the secretive and under-reported submarines,
seeking out unusual and interesting vessels and technologies involved in fighting beneath the waves. Submarines, capabilities, naval special
forces underwater vehicles and the changing world of underwater warfare
and seabed warfare. To do this he combines the latest Open Source
Intelligence (OSINT) with the traditional art and science of defense
analysis. He occasionally writes non-fiction books on these topics and
draws analysis-based illustrations to bring the subject to life. In
addition, H I Sutton is a naval history buff and data geek. His personal website about these topics is Covert Shores (www.hisutton.com)
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