Analysts said that China recently tried to reconfigure its Type 039A diesel-powered submarine to create a more concealed modification, suggesting that China plans to invade Taiwan.
This new variant, called Type 039D by military experts, was discovered in May when pictures and posts appeared on Chinese social media platforms. This submarine is characterized by its unique stealth sail-an angled upper part with a ridge on it.
“From the design and modification of rudders, sails, vents, and elbow holes, we can see that the development of submarines is focused on snorkeling operations. [for shallow littorals operation], Which is very different from the deep diving types of the United States and Russia.To some extent, the modification and design tell us that Taiwan is the primary target of the Type 039 submarine,” Macau military expert Anthony Wangtong told South China Morning Post.
Li Jie, a naval expert based in Beijing, also believes that this revision is intended to respond to US attacks, just in case Taiwan Accident. According to him, the submarine is “the People’s Liberation Army’s response to the modernization plan of its four combat nuclear-powered submarines-Ohio, Los Angeles, Sea Wolf, and Virginia.”
“Once there is an emergency in Taiwan, the United States will definitely deploy nuclear submarines in the Asia-Pacific region because of the long distance, but the PLA only needs to send Type 039 submarines to respond because it is happening at the door,” Li said.
The reason the new version becomes invisible when entering or leaving the port is that the sloping upper part has a sloping spine running along it.
“The resulting angle is similar to the fuselage of a stealth fighter, which may reduce its radar cross-section when it appears on the water,” said defense analyst HI Sutton. Naval News.
The South China Morning Post also cited a collaborative study by the author of the French submarine encyclopedia Eric Ginéville and former sonar technology submarine crew Richard W. Stirn (Richard W. Stirn), which stated that, The shape of the sail “seems to have been studied to better reflect the radar waves on the surface.”
In addition to the anechoic tile coating, the new modification also modified the dome, rudder, navigation lights, observation windows on the sails, and even the exhaust grille and other components on the hull.
According to the duo, all the changes are based on designs designed to make diesel-powered submarines quiet.
Original Type 039A It is China’s first conventional submarine designed mainly as an anti-ship cruise missile platform, capable of lurking for a longer time in difficult-to-access shallow coastal areas.
Photo: Niu Guang/Pool/Getty Images
