Non-Subscriber Extract
New submarine picture presents Chinese puzzle
- Article Tools
24 August 2004
New submarine picture presents Chinese puzzleYihong Chang Additional reporting by
Richard Scott
Western intelligence agencies are attempting to establish the provenance of a new diesel-electric submarine design recently launched from the Wuhan shipyard in China.
Identified as the Yuan class, the existence of the new design appears to have caught many analysts unaware.
Unnamed US intelligence sources quoted by the Washington Times said the emergence of the Yuan design - pictures of which have been posted on the internet in recent weeks - was a "technical surprise". Indeed, some observers harboured doubts as to the authenticity of the original images.
However, the emergence of additional images now suggests that the Yuan is indeed a new class. The design would appear similar to a model that previously appeared in People's Liberation Army Naval Journal that clearly mixes Russian and Chinese design influences..
129 of 266 words