Capable of long-term deep-sea residence and withstanding nuclear blast shock! A Chinese offshore platform is very covert, and it took a long time for the West to discover it.
Recently, the West finally discovered that China is building a large floating scientific research platform capable of long-term deep-sea residence and withstanding nuclear blast shock. This platform is not an ordinary research vessel but a massive floating facility weighing 78,000 tons, using a twin-hull semi-submersible structure.
By comparison, the largest oceanographic research platform currently in service in the United States, the "Sikuliaq," has a displacement of only about 3,000 tons, while China's new "Kexue" (Science) comprehensive research ship is around 4,800 tons. The 78,000-ton scale is close to the size of a medium aircraft carrier — for example, the French "Charles de Gaulle" aircraft carrier has a full load displacement of about 42,000 tons. This means that the platform has significantly greater stability, space capacity, and endurance than conventional research vessels.
According to official technical parameters, the platform can support 238 people to stay at sea continuously for 120 days, i.e., four months without docking for supplies. Its power system allows it to travel at a maximum speed of 15 knots independently, which enables it to quickly deploy to target waters and maintain stable posture under extreme sea conditions such as typhoons. This "mobility + long-term presence" dual capability is extremely rare among global oceanographic research facilities.
More notably, its design for nuclear blast resistance. Key compartments of the platform use a new protective technology called "meta-material sandwich structure": a large number of foldable metal tube arrays are embedded inside. When encountering shock waves, energy is absorbed through controllable deformation, converting the instantaneous high pressure that could cause structural damage into a slow compression process.
Simulation tests show that this structure has a shock wave attenuation efficiency more than 30% higher than traditional thick steel plates under the same weight, while saving about 20% of internal space and 15% of structural weight. It is worth noting that the relevant design standards directly refer to military-grade nuclear-resistant reinforcement specifications. Although the official emphasizes its civilian scientific research orientation, the technical approach clearly has dual-use characteristics for both military and civilian purposes.
From the deployment logic, this platform is different from fixed island construction. It can flexibly appear in key maritime areas such as the South China Sea, the Western Pacific, and even the Indian Ocean, performing tasks such as deep-sea geological observation, underwater communication node deployment, unmanned submersible mother port, and seabed mineral exploration.
In case of changes in the situation, it can also be quickly relocated or adjusted functions, such as converting into a maritime command post, emergency medical center, or logistics relay station. This "non-territorial existence" model avoids diplomatic risks arising from sovereignty disputes, while maintaining a factual forward presence.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849367436722183/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.