Setback for Beijing’s fleet
China’s newest attack submarine has sunk
26.09.2024, 20:13
China has been pushing ahead with the expansion of its fleet for some time now. Now the country has apparently had to cope with a significant loss. According to a report, Beijing’s newest attack submarine is sinking in a shipyard.
According to a media report, China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank in a shipyard several months ago. As the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, US officials describe the loss as a serious setback for one of the People’s Republic’s most important weapons programs. According to them, the incident occurred in late May or early June at the Wuchang shipyard near the city of Wuhan, which lies on the Yangtze River. The accident is said to have been covered up by the authorities.
It is unclear whether anyone was killed in the accident and whether the submarine was loaded with nuclear fuel elements at the time of the sinking. The sunken Zhou-class submarine is the first of a new class of nuclear-powered submarines and is characterized by a characteristic X-shaped stern that is intended to make the ship more maneuverable, the paper writes. Satellite images show the underwater vehicle at the end of May on a pier on the Yangtze River as it picked up the last pieces of equipment. Further images from the beginning of June then show large floating cranes at the site to recover the sunken submarine from the riverbed.
“It is not surprising that the People’s Liberation Army Navy is trying to cover up the fact that its new, first nuclear-powered attack submarine sank right at the dock,” a senior U.S. official told the newspaper. “In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the People’s Liberation Army’s internal accountability and its oversight of China’s defense industry, which has long been plagued by corruption.”
According to the WSJ, China is pushing ahead with the expansion of its navy, including its submarine fleet. With the move, Beijing is trying to exert political and military pressure on Taiwan. According to a Pentagon report published last year, the country had 48 diesel-powered attack submarines and six nuclear-powered attack submarines at the end of 2022. According to the report, Beijing is trying to counteract the US’s ability to come to the island’s aid in the event of a conflict over Taiwan by developing new models. Attack submarines are primarily designed to sink other submarines.