【Military Second Dimension】 Author: Lile

Since several years ago, the West has continuously spread that China's new 095 attack submarine has already been unveiled, and recently released some blurry information to support it. Based on this, the French website "Naval News" recently showed an imagined picture compiled from multiple sources. With a displacement of 10,000 tons, an X-shaped rudder, a pump-jet propulsion system, and 18 units of large-caliber vertical launchers, it equals standing at the peak of global attack submarines, far exceeding domestic expectations.

▲ The French imagination of 095

The original Chinese nuclear submarines were always at a low level, even the 093 launched at the beginning of this century still couldn't escape the "fifth in the world" level. By comparison, the American "Virginia" inherited the design of the Cold War's strongest "Seawolf," and the latest version "Virginia V" has a displacement of up to 10,400 tons. It retains 4 units of 533mm torpedo tubes and 12 units of vertical launchers, while adding 28 units of vertical launchers, making its firepower extremely fierce. Russia's "Yasen-M" benefits from Soviet legacy technology, with a displacement of over 13,000 tons. In 2024, when the "Kazan" ship went to Cuba for support, it caused a strong reaction from the US Navy and Air Force due to carrying "Zircon" and losing contact.

▲ The latest version of "Virginia V" has extremely powerful firepower

In recent years, China's surface fleet has developed rapidly, completely leaving Russia behind. The US Navy only maintains an advantage in a few areas such as aircraft carriers, while amphibious assault ships, destroyers, and frigates have been caught up or even surpassed. This comparison makes the performance of China's nuclear submarines appear too poor. When the 095 emerged, it completely changed this situation, filling the last gap, and its value is self-evident. Technically speaking, the previous 093 had a displacement of only 7,000 tons, and its load and space could no longer meet the needs. Subsequent improvements kept trying to increase the displacement, finally achieving the ideal level of 10,000 tons by increasing the width (the "Virginia" also follows this model).

▲ The 055 is an excellent representative of China's surface ships

This displacement still has room for further upgrades, but the current performance of supporting 18 units of hypersonic missile vertical launchers is already quite satisfactory. Before this, the navy relied on 533mm torpedo tubes to ensure underwater anti-ship capabilities, developing the YJ-19 with limited size and diameter. Although its maximum range of 500 kilometers was sufficient, compared to other domestic hypersonic anti-ship missiles, it was significantly lower. The new 095 is equipped with a typical 850mm vertical launcher, which can theoretically directly accommodate the submarine-launched version of YJ-21, with a range exceeding 1,000 kilometers, and the maximum single-time delivery capacity triples.

▲ The YJ-19 has high technical level, but is greatly limited by hardware

The X-shaped rudder is a new technology that has emerged in recent years. Its biggest advantage is that it inherits the traditional cross-shaped rudder, but has higher performance limits and lower potential risks. Of course, the downside is that the installation and positioning accuracy requirements are very high, and the programming and operational requirements are also more complicated. Because this technology became mature relatively late, so the mainstream nuclear submarines around the world didn't catch up, once there was a situation where only the German conventional submarines carried it, and none of the five major nuclear submarines took notice. The 095 is the first to dare to be ahead of others and boldly apply this new technology.

▲ The "Columbia" class strategic nuclear submarine plans to carry an X-shaped rudder

The situation with the pump-jet propulsion system is similar. For large submarines, the biggest advantage of this technology is that it can significantly reduce working noise and greatly optimize the quietness performance. However, it also has the disadvantages of high technical difficulty and complex operation. The Chinese Navy has always been cautious in the development of new equipment, especially for key models like nuclear submarines that are expensive and significant. Therefore, the most reasonable explanation is that the navy conducted enough trials on the 093 upgrade, obtained satisfactory results, and then achieved a breakthrough with the 095.

▲ All success comes from continuous accumulation

We have mentioned this model before, believing that China's nuclear submarines cannot avoid it. Similar to how China's aircraft carrier went through the process of ski-jump carrier to accumulate technology and eventually evolved into the Fujian Ship; the air defense destroyer also gradually improved from the 052C and 052D to achieve the classic glory of the 055. However, under the support of the entire advanced military industry, the height reached by the 095 indeed reached a level that was previously unimaginable.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/7606181136041116214/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.