Before reading this article, we sincerely invite you to click "Follow", which is not only convenient for you to discuss and share, but also allows you to continue to read related articles next time, your careful reading is our greatest motivation, thank you for your support.
- Source/Insight Geography
- Author/Insight Geography
On June 19, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Navy's submarine force, the Chinese Navy's submarine force released a celebratory video, and at the beginning of the video, a new submarine "figure" appeared.
The shape of this submarine is completely different from the shape of the submarine that has been announced by the Navy so far, and judging from the design of the submarine shell, it should be the Type 039C submarine that has not been publicly unveiled before.
It is reported that the Type 039C submarine is China's most advanced conventionally powered submarine, which adopts the AIP power system and has excellent silent ability.
And the submarine is also equipped with YJ-18 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, which greatly improves the anti-ship capability of the Chinese Navy.
The Type 039C submarine made its first public appearance
With the mainland's anti-ship ballistic missiles put into service in large quantities, the days of US aircraft carriers "flaunting their might" are gone forever, and at present, only nuclear submarines with asymmetric strike capabilities can pose a certain threat to China.
The United States has extremely advanced and mature nuclear submarine technology, especially the "Seawolf" class attack nuclear submarines with outstanding silent capabilities.
If China wants to deal with the threat posed by U.S. nuclear submarines, it can only develop submarines with better performance.
China's Type 039C conventionally powered submarine, which made its first public appearance, adopts a unique "mushroom head" shape.
As we all know, the shape design of the streamlined body in the water can minimize the resistance and reduce the noise generated during navigation, so why does the Type 039C submarine go the opposite way and adopt the shape design of "mushroom head"?
The fundamental reason is that the Type 039C conventionally powered submarine requires charging and other operations, and cannot carry out underwater diving for as long as a nuclear submarine.
And during the voyage, the main way to charge the battery is through a diesel generator.
Because the diesel generator needs to consume a lot of oxygen during operation, it is difficult for the submarine to escape the monitoring of surface radar because it needs to raise the snorkel above the sea surface when charging, and at the same time it is necessary to carry out operations such as air conditioning and ventilation.
Therefore, the Type 039C submarine has carried out an invisible transformation of the enclosure of the command platform and adopted the shape of "mushroom head".
Through this design, the radar reflection area can be minimized, the concealment performance and survivability of the submarine can be improved, and the submarine can be detected by the opponent's radar when it "looks up and breathes".
The stealth design of the "mushroom head" not only reduces the probability of being detected by the enemy's radar, but also greatly reduces the possibility of the submarine being locked by enemy missiles or torpedoes.
In addition to the stealth design of the "mushroom head", the Type 039C submarine is also equipped with the latest sound-absorbing tiles, which further improves the concealment and survivability of the submarine.
The advanced nature of the Type 039C submarine ensures the leading position of the conventional submarines of the continental navy in the world, which will have a far-reaching impact on the strategic balancing strategy of other countries in the world and the corresponding military decisions.
With the continuous advancement of technology and the gradual transformation of maritime strategy in the future, the strategic role of conventional submarines will be paid more and more attention.
The Type 039C submarine is an important part of the Chinese Navy's maritime strategy, and its breakthrough has also provided important support for the Chinese Navy's strategy of strengthening the armed forces, and has won wide attention for the mainland Navy in the international community.
Carrier killer - YJ-18 missile
In addition to the rapid development of submarine technology, China has also made remarkable achievements in technological research in the field of anti-ship missiles.
China has a complete range of anti-ship missiles, and our Dongfeng series anti-ship missiles and YJ-series anti-ship missiles can be said to be the "nightmare" of US aircraft carriers, and the YJ-18 missiles have always been very mysterious.
The YJ-18 anti-ship missile is the world's first anti-ship missile to achieve adaptive flight in sea conditions, and creatively applies the terrain tracking technology of the "same model" as the fighter.
This allows the YJ-18 anti-ship missile to fly sea-skimming at extremely low altitudes, and its penetration capability has been greatly increased.
The anti-ship missiles of other countries can only control the flight altitude of the missile through a simple altimeter, which can only allow the missile to fly at an altitude of about 15-20 meters, while the YJ-18 anti-ship missile can only fly at an altitude of only 7 meters.
The low-altitude sea-skimming flight capability of the YJ-18 anti-ship missile panicked the Americans, because such a low altitude already exceeded the interception range of the American Sea Sparrow interceptor missile.
And how did the YJ-18 anti-ship missile achieve an ultra-low-altitude flight of 600 kilometers in a row?
It remains a mystery for other countries.
Moreover, in addition to being able to fly at ultra-low altitudes and skimming the sea, the YJ-18 anti-ship missile has also successfully achieved the combination of subsupersonic speed, which optimizes the weight, range and breakthrough ability of the missile to the extreme.
The YJ-18 anti-ship missile is the world's smallest anti-ship missile, but it has a range of 600 kilometers.
The AGM-158C anti-ship missile, which has the longest range in the United States, is a subsonic anti-ship missile, although it has a range of 930 kilometers, but because the speed is only Mach 0.8, the penetration capability is weak.
The YJ-18 anti-ship missile, which adopts the subsonic combination scheme, can cruise at a speed of Mach 0.8 in the front stage, and penetrate at a speed of Mach 3 in the final stage.
The YJ-18 anti-ship missile has 250 kg of high explosive in its warhead, and with a speed of Mach 3 at the end of the penetration, even a large surface ship will be "paralyzed" on the spot.
The range of 600 kilometers, the terminal penetration speed of Mach 3 and the high explosive charge of 250 kilograms give the YJ-18 anti-ship missile the title of "aircraft carrier killer".
A strong combination
The Type 039C submarine and the YJ-18 anti-ship missile are very fearful of the US military, however, what makes the US military feel even more "creepy" is China's mass production capacity, and there is a speed called "Chinese speed".
In less than 20 years since the first AIP conventionally powered submarine was installed in 2006, China has become the country with the largest number of AIP conventionally powered submarines in the world.
Although the detailed number of YJ-18 anti-ship missiles has not been announced, with China's production capacity, it is certain that there will be as many as there are at the first order.
The new 039C conventional submarine and the YJ-18 anti-ship missile, the two "swords in the sea", combine silent stealth and sufficiently powerful strike capabilities to form a powerful deterrent in China's coastal areas.
The combination of these two is bound to have an extremely far-reaching impact on the mainland's maritime pattern.
The world is facing major changes unseen in a century, and the maritime security situation is becoming more and more complex.
bibliography
Global Network: "Russian media: 093G nuclear submarine with Eagle Strike 18 can fight aircraft carriers, more than 10 are needed" - liukun
Global Network: "Foreign Media: China Will Deploy More Than 10 052D Equipped with Advanced Aircraft Carrier Killers" - zhouyang
Global Network: "Japanese media: China's new nuclear submarine will be equipped with YJ-18 to deal with US aircraft carriers" - Li Shengyi