The demonstration of intentions is more important than the resultIn the light of the development of Russian-Chinese military cooperation, it seems appropriate to recall the underestimated joint developments.
Thus, the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are cooperating on the issue of joint design of a new generation of non-nuclear submarines (NPS), as stated by the press service of the FSVTS. However, according to Chinese experts, it is too early to talk about the completion dates. What kind of boat is being worked on and what it will be designed for is still a mystery.
At the beginning of the Cold War, the Soviet Union helped China develop its own construction of submarines (submarines). However, the study of publications in Chinese military-technical publications shows that now, according to Chinese authors, China is going its own way in developing the technology of air-independent power plants (VNEU) and is already ahead of Russia in some areas. Some authors make a cautious assumption that in the future Moscow may think about the feasibility of buying Chinese non-nuclear submarines.
In service with the Russian Navy and the Chinese Navy (unlike the US Navy), in addition to nuclear attack submarines, there are still non-nuclear submarines. They are cheaper to produce and have a number of advantages over nuclear-powered ones, especially boats for coastal areas.
During the close alliance with Beijing, Moscow helped China develop its own Chinese submarine construction industry by providing drawings of a diesel-electric submarine (DPL) with ballistic missiles of Project 629 (Golf class according to NATO classification) and Project 633 (Romeo class) DPL. Later, Russia supplied China with the project 877 "Halibut" (Kilo class) diesel fuel. But then China went its own way, and now it has the technical potential to build submarines of any class.
One of the important areas in which China can take a leading position is the propulsion system for NAPL. The Celestial Empire is already building submarines with VNEU, and Russia is still only trying to introduce this technology, although at the beginning of the previous Cold War it was a pioneer in its creation. It was assumed that the VNEU would be installed on a modern Russian submarine of the Lada 677 series, but this has not yet happened.
Another direction may be the use of promising batteries. Submarines are only now switching to lithium-ion batteries. The first submarines in the world with them were Japanese, followed by South Korean and Italian.
Another area of possible cooperation may be the combination of a corps built by one country with combat systems and weapons created in another. We are talking about, for example, installing our sonar and weapons on the Chinese submarine. Or install a Chinese battery and an external power supply on a Russian submarine.
What will the Russian-Chinese project actually be like? While the authoritative Russian design bureau "Malachite", specializing in the development of submarines, is promoting its own development. According to the concept project, the length of the non-nuclear submarine P-750B Serval will be 65.5 m, the NPL will receive a closed-type VNEU with a gas turbine engine, which uses liquid oxygen coming from a special tank.
However, Chinese shipbuilders are also promoting their own projects, so it is unclear how the new jointly designed submarine will fit into the future composition of the fleets of both countries.
Chinese Internet users believe that the new submarine will not be designed for the own navies of both countries. Russia and China compete in the international market, mainly selling NAPL. China's share in this market is growing, and it sells submarines to Thailand, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is possible that this jointly designed submarine will also be exported.
Although the Celestial Empire demonstrates significant success in the development of weapons and military equipment, there are many areas in which the military-industrial complex of the PRC is inferior to the Russian one.
According to Moscow's official position, naval cooperation with Beijing is not directed against third countries and is not related to the military-political situation in the region. At the same time, relations between the United States, on the one hand, and Russia and China, on the other, are now characterized by the presence of serious contradictions. In this regard, the joint naval exercises are designed to demonstrate the alliance of the two countries and their readiness to join forces in the interests of achieving common goals. It should be noted that the intensity of joint exercises of the Russian Navy and the Chinese Navy has increased in recent years.
So, there are more questions than answers about the prospects of a jointly designed Russian-Chinese non-nuclear submarine today. It is likely that this venture, like many other defense projects widely covered in the state media of the Russian Federation and China, will ultimately lead to nothing. However, we remind readers that the submarine war itself, as well as the search for information about new submarines, often involves waiting tactics.
Vasily Ivanov
