Yeah, I just saw this picture too. With only one problem, this doesn't look like a Yuan to me. The hump looks different. If this is really from Wuhan as they claim, I think we are seeing a new variant.
lol, CD just added legitimacy to my claims by deleting the threads with its pictures. The other forums still have their threads though.
The way I see it the ridge on the upper hull near the bow of the original Yuan has a form that seems shaped like a triangle. In these pictures, the ridge now unites to form a knife like edge. It seems that this might be more smoother hydrodynamically. I sure would like to see clear pictures to verify if there are any changes in the limber hole patterns along the side and to see if there is any flaring at the base of the sail.
The Yuan roots are clear, but there may be changes to the outer hydrodynamic hull shape.
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In order to enlighten what is happening to our less informed members, we have to begin how a sub is constructed. Chinese subs, much like Russian and some other nation subs, are double hulled. That means there is an outer hull that shapes the hydrodynamics of the sub, and an inner pressure hull that contains all the people and the stuff within. The pressure hull is the toughest part of the sub and that's where the real strength and structure is, while the outer hull is like thin shell.
Even though the Song and the Yuan don't look much alike, I suspect both share the same inner pressure hull, and what makes them look different is the outer hull. This is perhaps the reason why they share the same designation with only the letter changed.
Because the outer hull is thinner, it is relatively easier to reshape. The reason why US subs are so expensive is because they are single hulled, meaning both pressure and hydrodynamic hull are the same and one. This statement does not sound intuitive, since it is assumed, one hull is cheaper to build than two, labor wise and material wise. But the problem is that it is much more difficult to bend and reshape thick hard pressure plate and this is a very daunting, and quite impressive use of machine tooling to accomplish this. Its truly a mighty feat of construction engineering but it is also very expensive as a result.
Because double hull design has a sense of modularity in the sense of the separation between inner pressure and outer shape hull, it is possible for the 039 family to evolve its outer shape while retaining the pressure hull.
In a way I sense the same thing for the 093 and 094, that the exterior hulls can be relatively modified quickly to allow them to experiment with new variants.
