Chinese Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV)

Don't know why is this deep sea glider fell under embargo list. They must tought it has military application Anyway it takes them 12 years to indigenously developed deep sea glider and now it beat world record dive. From Henri K


We all remember the submarine glider of the US Navy that was seized in mid-December 2016 in the South China Sea and then returned some time later by China, but few know that the Chinese have also developed for about ten Year the same type of gear.


The same submarine glider model of the US Navy was captured by China in December 2016. (Photo: US Navy)

One of them, the Hai Yi (翼 翼), or Sea Wings if translated literally, has just , reaching 6,329 meters below sea level , Before being successfully recovered by scientists from the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA), a sub-entity of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The Chinese submarine glider, developed by SIA teams since 2003, , for a mission that is expected to last two months in the Mariana pit in the west Of the Pacific Ocean.

The vessel has accumulated 87 hours and 48 minutes of diving in 12 descents, and has traveled a distance of 134.6 km under the sea, which allows it to send back a significant amount of scientific data on the pit.

"When the 6 329 meter data came down to us, we were all overjoyed. "Said JIN Wen Ming, one of the 31 SIA researchers onboard Exploration-1," But I was a bit stressed because last year we lost touch with the 'One of our submarine gliders who wanted to challenge the 6,000 meter level. "


This success of the glider Hai Yi will now allow Chinese researchers to work on the next step - the 7,000 meters deep.

The project of this Chinese submarine glider was launched in 2003 following the embargo of the associated technologies by the western countries. In October 2005, the first prototype of Hai Yi was manufactured and led the first trials to the lake successfully.

Other prototypes, 2 meters long and capable of reaching 1,200 meters in depth, were quickly designed.

Trials at sea have been chained with three trips near China in 2009, the first descent in the Pacific Ocean in 2001, the first tour in the South China Sea in July 2012, and endurance tests of more than 1,000 km And on 30 days in September 2014. And after every test campaign the machine evolves, both in capacity and in functionality.

In 2015, after 12 years of development, the first submarine glider Hai Yi industrial version was delivered to Chinese customers.


The development team of the submarine glider Hai Yi (Photo: SIA)


The trajectory of the various outings to the sea, until 2015, of the submarine glider Hai Yi (Photo: SIA)

It should be noted that other Chinese submarine glider projects are also in development. Examples include the Hai Yan (海燕) of the University of Tianjin, which is equipped with a hybrid propulsion system, or the Hai Xiang (海翔) of the 702 Institute of the naval group CSIC, which has Conducted a test in the South China Sea two years ago.

Henri K.

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They found Nemo...

China's Haiyan gliders set record for deep-sea dive
Chinese oceanographic research ship "Xiang Yang Hong 18" has returned to Qingdao after overseeing record-setting dives in the Mariana Trench by Chinese-developed underwater gliders, reports China Central Television.



Chinese-developed "Haiyan" underwater gliders are said to have set a new world record for a deep-sea dive by reaching a depth of 8,213 meters. [Photo: CCTV]

The "Haiyan" gliders have undergone a series of standard tests.

As part of the six-days of dives, the "Haiyan" gliders are said to have broken the record for a deep-sea dive, hitting a depth of 8,213 meters.

The previous record is said to have been around 6,000 meters.

"It is a historic step in China's deep-sea observation. The successful development of the deep-sea underwater gliders will guide and stimulate the advancement of China's unmanned deep-sea research equipment," said Wu Lixin, director of the Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology.

Gliders, unlike other unmanned vessels, dive and rise through a shift in the ballast of the vessel, allowing the craft to gain or lose depth in a 'yaw,' or see-saw type descent or ascent.

Here is the video
Chinas self-developed underwater glider "Haiyan" has broken the world record of deep-sea dive by going down to a depth of 8,213 meters below sea level. The underwater glider, carried on board the submersible mother ship Xiangyanghong 18, returned to eastern China's Qingdao City on Saturday after finishing the dive in the Mariana Trench, known as the world's deepest sea trench.

Qingdao City, Shandong Province, east China - April 21, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of submersible mother ship "Xiangyanghong 18"
2. Various of underwater glider "Haiyan"

At Sea - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of researchers putting Haiyan into water
4. Researchers operating computers
5. Screen showing diving depth of Haiyan
6. Researchers taking notes
7. Researchers meeting
8. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Yanhui, Haiyan project leader (partially overlaid with shot 9):
"We had fully tested the performance of Haiyan deep-sea underwater glider in a series of standard sea trials. During the six-day dive in the waters near the Mariana Trench, it dived as deep as 8,213 meters, breaking the world record depth of about 6,000 meters."
++SHOT OVERAYING SOUNDBITE++
9. Underwater glider "Haiyan"
++SHOT OVERAYING SOUNDBITE++
10. Underwater glider "Haiyan"
11. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wu Lixin, director, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (partially overlaid with shot 12):
"It is a historic step in China's deep-sea observation. The successful development of the deep-sea underwater glider will guide and stimulate the advance of China's unmanned deep-sea research equipment."
++SHOT OVERAYING SOUNDBITE++
12. Sign of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology
++SHOT OVERAYING SOUNDBITE++
13. Underwater glider "Haiyan"


Storyline

China's self-developed underwater glider "Haiyan" has broken the world record of deep-sea dive by going down to a depth of 8,213 meters below sea level.

The underwater glider, carried on board the submersible mother ship Xiangyanghong 18, returned to eastern China's Qingdao City on Saturday after finishing the dive in the Mariana Trench, known as the world's deepest sea trench.

"We had fully tested the performance of Haiyan deep-sea underwater glider in a series of standard sea trials. During the six-day dive in the waters near the Mariana Trench, it dived as deep as 8,213 meters, breaking the world record depth of about 6,000 meters," said Wang Yanhui, leader of the underwater glider development project.

Experts said the dive is a milestone for China's development of underwater research equipment.

"It is a historic step in China's deep-sea observation. The successful development of the deep-sea underwater glider will guide and stimulate the advance of China's unmanned deep-sea research equipment," said Wu Lixin, director of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology.

Future naval sub hunting right there folks.

An UUV model from Zhuhai...

(2048 x 1536)

I may be sticking this in the wrong thread. However, a photo was sent to me of a potentially new Chinese sub. The boat seems small/wrong for a modern SSK and I am not seeing the hatch/conning tower. Given what I have seen of the American Orca and the Russian Poseidon, this seems reminiscent, if bigger.

So, new XXXL UUV or new sub? Or something known and I am a moron?

A little more was sent. It may be a sailless SSK or UUV. From the JN shipyard from October? November? supposedly:





So, new SSK or XLUUV?

Another image sent to me. Again, idk if this is an ssk or UUV or even someone sending me BS. I'm hoping you guys can tell more.

HN-1 UUV and here is the article by Lyle Goldstein last year. I guess they are testing it now underwater


Meet the HN-1, China's New AI-Powered Underwater Drone

The battle for future undersea AI dominance is heating up and China’s ambitions are not small in this domain.

by
As “great power competition” ramps up, signs of arms races in America’s strategic relationships with both Russia and China are everywhere apparent. In this respect, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s March 1 speech made a big splash in the press, but readers may not be aware of the late tests in May
hen the Russian Navy simultaneously four new Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). These missiles were designed no doubt for nuclear strikes on the American heartland. Likewise, China the tenth test of its new road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), called the DF-41. Furthermore, this test was to be of a missile-defense evading hypersonic warhead with the same general purpose in mind. If you grew up in the early 1980s, as I did, this script sounds all too familiar.

As in the first Cold War, today’s great powers are not satisfied with competition in the domain of nuclear weaponry, but also seek advantage in non-nuclear arms as well, just in case the “” holds and nuclear deterrence makes the world safe again for conventional war. That rivalry manifests itself, not only in a raft of new fighters and destroyers now coming online but under the sea as well. As unmanned vehicles have obviously revolutionized air and land warfare over the last decade, many defense analysts are confident the same type of revolution will impact undersea warfare in the coming decade. In this edition of Dragon Eye, we consider a new Chinese unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) that could confront the U.S. Navy in future decades.

A variety of other Chinese UUVs have been revealed in before, but this brief discussion focuses on the, profiled in a of the Chinese defense magazine Ordnance Science and Technology [兵工科技]. The vehicle, apparently produced by the Aerospace and Sea Science and Technology Company [北京海纳科技公司] is profiled in a number of high-fidelity pictures, and its appearance is unusual as it strikingly resembles a swordfish. Indeed, the description begins by stating: "The natural world … offers humanity much inspiration, becoming a wellspring of each type of technological and engineering progress… [自然世界… 给了人类很多启发也成为了各种技术发明和工程进步的源泉]." No doubt this is an accelerating trend of Chinese maritime research. Furthermore, another quick example is an of the pectoral fins of Blue Sharks that was undertaken with the explicit purpose of optimizing the design of autonomous undersea vehicles.

HN-1, dubbed somewhat mysteriously as the "flexible vehicle" [柔性航行器], has a fish's shape with head, fins, body and tail. The dorsal fin is said to house a communications antenna, allowing the vehicle to communicate with its mothership while in a semi-submerged status. The other fins help control the vehicle's stability, depth, turning radius, and also allow it to stop. Still, the vehicle's signature feature is its apparent ability to harness the "fish-like swim mobility type" [鱼一样游动方式] means of propulsion. That is most likely why the UUV is called a "flexible vehicle," as the body flexes with the tail to create motion. With a claimed maximum speed of 16 knots, the HN-1 may not be so swift. Yet, compared to other UUVs, that is remarkably fast, actually. Even more important is that, unlike almost all other UUV designs, the HN-1 lacks a propeller, which in turn suggests that its "stealth characteristics are extremely good [隐蔽性非常好]." Rather surprisingly, the article also mentions that HN-1 is equipped with the ability to release air bubbles to increase its speed, employing the same hyper-cavitation principles as the famous Russian Shkval torpedo.

However, before one gets too excited about this platform, it is worth emphasizing that, according to this Chinese article, the HN-1 had completed all land tests and computer simulations, but water tests were only just about to begin. Given that these tests are planned as of mid-2017, there is obviously quite a long way to go in the development cycle. Still, the article is impressively open regarding the specific parameters of the HN-1 vehicle. It is said to be 3m in length, weigh 200kg, be capable of carrying another 60kg, and have a maximum depth of 50m. The article reveals, however, that these Chinese designers have ambitions well beyond their “small-size HN-1.” Thus, it is revealed that medium (HN-2) and large-size (HN-3) flexible-type UUVs are also planned for development and related parameters are offered. Thus, HN-2 is suggested to be 6m in length, weigh 1600kg, be capable of carrying an additional 480kg, is projected to dive to 100m, and will have a maximum speed of 21 knots. Meanwhile, the whale-like HN-3 would be 12m in length, exceed 13 tons in weight, could carry in excess of 3.8 tons, at a maximum speed of 27 knots, and might be able to reach a maximum depth of 500m. Thus, “… with stealthy swimming capabilities comparable to nuclear submarines, its mobility and flexible characteristics could even leave nuclear submarines behind [潜游能力堪比核潜艇,机动灵活性更是把核潜艇远远甩在后面].”

The penultimate section of this Chinese article turns to the “combat” [作战] employment of HN-1 and this family of new UUVs. Here, it is noted that, in addition to having a low acoustic signature, its physical shape and qualities may well cause enemy sensors “to mistakenly believe it is a kind of fish [被误认为是鱼类].” For these reasons, this new Chinese undersea vehicle is anticipated to have “extraordinary survivability on the battlefield [极大的战场生存性].” In addition to intelligence gathering, the HN-1 is expected to perform missions related to “exploration… and rescue,” as well. It is thought that it could be particularly useful for mapping adversary minefields and the laydown of anti-submarine warfare networks. Then, the mission of “covertly penetrating” [潜入] heavily defended enemy ports and naval bases is mentioned too. This analysis contends that by employing its fish-like disguise, that HN-1 could fool adversary sensors in order to “make point-blank attacks on submarines and undersea infrastructure, rendering the enemy defenseless [对潜艇和水下设施实施抵近攻击让敌人防不胜防].”

According to this description, the HN series of UUVs will be designed to fight as a team in groups or "schools of fish [鱼群]." Within that scheme, the smaller HN-1 can function as a scout, HN-2 could take up combat roles, while HN-3 has the best sensors and thus could perform the command and control mission. To state the obvious critique, these are rather grand ambitions for a "fish" that has not yet been in the water. As the authors of the piece candidly relate, "There are many technical problems [技术难点很多]." Regarding the propulsion systems, for example, it is readily admitted that HN-1 "compared to a real fish still has a major gap" in speed and efficiency. Likewise, the power system also remains a challenge, and the article briefly mentions such remedies as solar cells or underwater recharging stations. Readers will not be surprised to learn that the U.S. Navy is also on similar type bio-mimicking underwater vehicles and they may be reassured to learn that America seems to be a in this research, but that is also difficult to say with any certainty.