Submarine Close Encounters

The burgeoning need for submarines in Asia Pacific is outstripping the region’s capacity to produce them.

- Tim Fish

The trend towards the acquisition of submarines in the Asia-Pacific region is gathering pace as more countries join the race. Maritime industry representatives attribute this submarine arms race to the growth of China and the rapid expansion of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) sub-surface capability across both nuclearpowered and conventionally powered submarines.

The PLAN’s nuclear-powered submarine classes are still largely developmental but with its Jin-class (Type 094) ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) it has a medium range capability and is embarking on a new Type 096 SSBN project that will upgrade its sea-based deterrent further. The Shangclass (Type 093) and earlier Han-class (Type 091) attack submarines (SSNs) are based on Russian designs and are reputed to be rather noisy, however the latest Type 095 being built is intended to be much quieter.

For hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) there is a similar story. The early Mingclass (Type 035) submarines delivered unsatisfactory performance and the PLAN ended up buying a large number of Russian Kilo-class boats to supplement its force. But the newer Song-class (Type 039) have more enhanced features and up to 13 hulls are rumoured to be in existence. The most recent is the Yuan-class (Type 39A/Type 041) which appears to have been developed from the Kilo-class but are far more effective than their predecessors and are another step up in capability with over 17 in service.

Reducing target echo strength is a key development in all submarines across the Asia-Pacific region with the use of more internal mountings for machinery and new materials for the outside of the hull. A further development for SSKs is energy storage where new Li-ion batteries will bring significant enhancements in power usage and will complement the introduction of air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems. AIP allows conventional submarines to engage in longer submerged missions.