look news india
In the race to establish its undisputed dominance in the global oceans, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has taken a step that has given sleepless nights to Western defense experts and the Pentagon. New images obtained from high-resolution spy satellites deployed in space have exposed a top-secret Chinese naval weapons system. At the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai, Chinese engineers are building the world’s first unique and giant ‘Mothership’ (giant carrier warship), which is capable of carrying an entire fleet of unmanned robotic submarines (drone submarines) operating under water and deploying them secretly in the deep sea. This warship has the potential to change the entire definition of conventional naval warfare, causing a stir in the strategic circles of the US and its Pacific allies.
According to the latest aerial analysis released by American defense intelligence and satellite imagery firm ‘Vantor’, this special platform being built at Shanghai’s famous Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard is completely different from traditional frigates, destroyers or aircraft carriers. According to defense reports published in the British daily ‘The Telegraph’, a huge internal hangar has been built in the lower and middle structure of this new Chinese warship, dedicated to the maintenance and launching of automated vehicles that operate underwater. Along with this, 12 heavy vertical lifting arms and crane-like mechanisms are clearly visible near the deck in satellite imagery. This mechanism is designed to directly land heavy underwater drones in deep water even amidst rough sea waves and tow them back into the belly of the ship after completion of the operation, proving that this platform is being completely designed for offensive naval operations.
The most dangerous feature of this mothership is that it has the ability to secretly carry four giant Extra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (XXLUUV) simultaneously. The scale and engineering of these submarine drones seems to be leaving the rest of the world behind. The length of the main automated drone submarine being prepared by the Chinese Navy is estimated to be about 148 feet. According to defense experts, it is about three times the size of the US Navy’s most advanced ‘Orca’ robotic submarine program and about four times the size of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy ‘Excalibur’ drone project. Operating without any human crew, these robotic monsters are capable of traveling thousands of nautical miles in the deep sea in complete silence, due to which the enemy’s conventional sonar networks cannot easily detect them.
These giant drone submarines are not limited to just espionage or surveillance, but are equipped with deadly payload bays that can be loaded with heavy-duty modern anti-ship and anti-submarine torpedoes, smart sea mines and cruise missiles. Being free from the biological limitations of the crew, they can lie in wait at the bottom of the sea for months without getting tired. If necessary, this mothership can stand in international waters and launch these four submarines, which have the ability to destroy enemy aircraft carrier strike groups, important ports and strategic undersea internet cables located thousands of kilometers away, while avoiding the detection of enemy radar and anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft like P-8I Poseidon.
The construction of this mothership deepens a long-standing concern of Western defense planners, with the Pentagon repeatedly highlighting China’s unprecedented shipbuilding capacity. According to current naval data, while the number of active warships with the US Navy is limited to around 295, the fleet of active warships with the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China has crossed the 400 mark. The production speed of China’s commercial and military shipyards is several times faster than that of Western countries. If this drone submarine mothership successfully completes sea trials, China will be able to directly challenge the US Navy’s traditional supercarrier superiority at low cost and without any risk to human life.
International strategists believe that Beijing will primarily use this new weapon to make anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy impenetrable in the Taiwan Strait and the disputed South China Sea (SCS). China stakes its historical claim on the entire South China Sea and considers the unification of Taiwan as its main goal. In the event of any possible Taiwan conflict, these drone motherships could prove to be an infallible shield to prevent American warships from entering the First Island Chain. Meanwhile, in his stern address at the Xiangshan Security Forum held in Beijing, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun warned the Western powers to stay away from militarism, factionalism and supremacy policies. Analysts believe that this clear message from the Chinese Defense Minister was for allies like America and Japan, who are trying to surround China’s growing maritime power in the Indo-Pacific region.