Profile of the Type 093
Class overview
NameType 093
BuildersBohai Shipyard, Huludao[1]
Operators People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded byType 091
Succeeded byType 095
In commission2006–present
Planned8[2]
Building2[2]
Completed6[2]
Active6[3]
General characteristics
TypeNuclear-powered attack submarine
Displacement6,096 tonnes (submerged)[1]
Length107 m (351 ft 1 in)[1]
Beam11 m (36 ft 1 in)[1]
Draft7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)[1]
PropulsionPressurized water reactor[1]
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)[1]
RangeUnlimited
Complement100[1]
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Type 359 radar[1]
  • Hull-mounted sonar[1]
  • Flank array sonar[1]
  • Passive intercept array sonar[1]
  • Towed array sonar (later variant)[4]
Armament

The Type 093 submarine (NATO reporting name: Shang class) is a class of nuclear-powered attack submarines constructed by the People's Republic of China for the People's Liberation Army Navy.[1]

History

Development of the type

Admiral Liu Huaqing claimed in his memoirs that development began in 1994 following President Jiang Zemin's continued support for nuclear submarine development after the launch of the final Type 091 in 1990. Erickson and Goldstein suggest that the Yinhe incident in 1993,[5] and continued tensions with Taiwan also drove Jiang Zemin's support of the program.[6] Russian experts reportedly aided the design.[1]

The first Type 093 was laid down in 1994 and commissioned in 2006. The second was laid down in 2000 and commissioned in 2007. The first Type 093A was laid down in 2009 and was commissioned in 2015.[1][2]

2023 social media and British tabloid rumors

August 2023 (first unsubstantiated reports of deaths)

On August 21, 2023, rumors emerged on social media claiming that PLAN submarine 093A–417 had suffered severe damage in an incident in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait.[7][8] (As of December 2023, these rumors remain unsubstantiated by factual evidence.) On August 31, A spokesperson for Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said that the nation's intelligence and surveillance systems had not detected evidence of such a crash, while open-source military analyst H.I. Sutton wrote that he had "not seen any convincing evidence to support" the rumors, which claimed the sub had suffered a fatal incident which killed all aboard.[9][10] On August 31, PLA spokesperson Wu Qian issued a denial on behalf of the Ministry of National Defense, stating "reports claiming that a Chinese Type 093 nuclear-powered submarine had an accident in the Taiwan Straits are completely false."[11]

October 2023 (shifting narratives concerning the location and cause of alleged incident)

The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, reported in early October 2023 that the alleged August incident occurred due to the submarine becoming “... caught in a trap intended to ensnare British sub-surface vessels in the Yellow Sea.” (rather than in the Taiwan Strait) and that the entire crew died due to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) as a result of system faults on the submarine,[8] According to Radio Free Asia, such media reports left some submarine experts unconvinced. For example, Thomas Shugart, a retired submariner and adjunct senior fellow at the think tank Center for a New American Security in Washington D.C., stated that “I’ve never heard of submarine nets being used on the high seas, and I don’t understand why snagging one would cause a failure of atmosphere control equipment,”[8] According to Shugart, “(s)ix hours is not enough to result in hypoxia without something else consuming the oxygen first, like a fire or explosion,”[8] Radio Free Asia further reported that two days after the Daily Mail’s article, a Chinese-language media outlet based in Taiwan (UP Media) alleged that, instead of submarine nets, the real cause of the alleged accident was “serious problems” of the Yu-3C torpedoes on the submarine.[8]; in response, retired submariner and US naval intelligence analyst Chris Carlson told Radio Free Asia that he was "taking a wait-and-see approach" but that “(t)he problem is the vast majority of the reporting [on the alleged incident] is from Taiwanese sources that have some credibility issues,”[8] As of December 2023, hard evidence of accidental deaths has yet to emerge.

Variants

Type 093

Initial design.[1] In the early 2000s, Chinese sources reported that the Type 093's noise level was on par with the improved Los Angeles-class submarines, and with Project 971 (NATO reporting name Akula) at 110 decibels.[12] In 2009, USN ONI listed the Type 093 as being noisier than Project 671RTM (NATO reporting name Victor III) which entered service in 1979.[13] Two built. NATO reporting name Shang I.[14]

Type 093A

Modified design, possibly with greater length[1] and a hump behind the sail.[15] Four built. NATO reporting name Shang II.[14]

Type 093B

Projected "guided-missile nuclear attack submarine" variant armed with surface/land-attack missiles.[14]

Ships of class

Pennant numberNameBuilderLaunchedCommissionedFleetStatus
Type 093
407[1] Bohai Shipyard[1] 24 December 2002[1] December 2006[1] North Sea Fleet[1] Active[16]
408[1] Bohai Shipyard[1] 2000[1] December 2003[1] North Sea Fleet[1] Active[16]
Type 093A
409[1] Bohai Shipyard[1] 2012[1] Active[16]
410[1] Bohai Shipyard[1] 2013[1] Active[16]
Active[16]
Active[16]
Type 093B
Bohai Shipyard 2022[17]
Bohai Shipyard 2023[17]

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Saunders, Stephan, ed. (2015). Jane's Fighting Ships 2015-2016. Jane's Information Group. p. 129. ISBN 978-0710631435.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "China launches second possible Type 093B hull". Janes.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  3. ↑ Biggers, Christopher (February 1, 2023). "China launches second possible Type 093B hull". Janes.com. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Shang-Class Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarines, China". Naval Technology.
  5. ↑ Erickson and Goldstein (2007: 58)
  6. ↑ Erickson and Goldstein (2007: 64-65)
  7. ↑ "Chinese submarine crash rumor unsubstantiated: MND". Taipei Times. 2023-08-22. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Firn, Mike; Chan, Elaine (2023-10-09). "Did the Chinese submarine accident happen?". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  9. ↑ Sutton, H. I. [@covertshores] (August 22, 2023). "**UPDATE** I deleted the post re reported missing #Chinese submarine. So far not seen any convincing evidence to support rumors, and too much weight is being placed on my posts (despite my caveats) Treat topic with caution ⚠️ Awaiting credible info #OSINT" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ Sutton, H. I. [@covertshores] (August 21, 2023). "Reports suggest all crew died. If so, RIP. However, again, caution that currently no evidence. And some reporting is less credible. But important to listen for more. More info on this class of submarine [http://www.hisutton.com/Chinese-Navy-Type-093-Shang-Class-Submarine.html]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ↑ Qian, Wu (2023-08-31). "Rumors about a Chinese nuclear submarine accident completely false: Defense Spokesperson". Chinese Ministry of National Defense. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  12. ↑ Erickson and Goldstein (2007: 67)
  13. ↑ Office of Naval Intelligence (2009: 22)
  14. 1 2 3 United States Department of Defense 2021, p. 49.
  15. ↑ "Image shows new variant of China's Type 093 attack submarine". janes.com. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The International Institute for Strategic Studies (2022). The Military Balance 2022. Routledge. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-032-27900-8.
  17. 1 2 "China launches second possible Type 093B hull". janes.com. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.

Sources

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