Chinese Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV)

lube · 2025-08-17T03:22:52-0400

para80 said:
Poseidon is a very notional capability to deliver a nuclear warhead against a coastal installation, bypassing American BMD.

I am not convinced China is thinking along such lines. As someone else on Twitter pointed out, the designation of the carrier vehicle indicates an uncrewed system, ie a drone, and perhaps as such not a weapon. Although the distinction is not always clear, nowadays.

Wasn't there a concept of a super long ranged torpedo floating around?
Except that was meant to use a novel, low cost nuclear propulsion system so you could justify using conventional warheads on them.

Not sure how vulnerable regular container ships are to a single suicide UUV this size however.

no_name · 2025-08-17T03:26:35-0400

lube said:
Wasn't there a concept of a super long ranged torpedo floating around?
Except that was meant to use a novel, low cost nuclear propulsion system so you could justify using conventional warheads on them.

Not sure how vulnerable regular container ships are to a single suicide UUV this size however.

I think then it would be more useful to use them on high value targets, like SSBNs.

So the nuclear powered torpedo can just lay in wait outside SSBN stationed ports, for years if necessary. Then when needed tail behind SSBNs as they leave port waiting for orders to sink them.

Tomboy · 2025-08-17T03:35:28-0400

no_name said:
I think then it would be more useful to use them on high value targets, like SSBNs.

So the nuclear powered torpedo can just lay in wait outside SSBN stationed ports, for years if necessary. Then when needed tail behind SSBNs as they leave port waiting for orders to sink them.

How is communication going to work? These drones cannot be remotely contacted once they dive. Surfacing would risk detection especially close to enemy shores and also require good coordination to limit time spent on the surface. It also will be effectively uncontactable if it is tailing a sub so it can't recieve orders to sink the vessel.

zyklon · 2025-08-17T04:54:05-0400

Tomboy said:
How is communication going to work? These drones cannot be remotely contacted once they dive. Surfacing would risk detection especially close to enemy shores and also require good coordination to limit time spent on the surface. It also will be effectively uncontactable if it is tailing a sub so it can't recieve orders to sink the vessel.

The PLAN should have a thing or two analogous to

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, which could — at least in theory — be deployed to activate mines and/or UUVs prepositioned IVO adversarial naval bases.

Tomboy · 2025-08-17T04:56:55-0400

zyklon said:
The PLAN should have a thing or two analogous to
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, which could — at least in theory — be deployed to activate mines and/or UUVs prepositioned IVO adversarial naval bases.

View attachment 158494

I'm not gonna lie but the range of this system is pretty terrible, you'd have to drop a bouy literally right outside the enemy port for effective communication.

zyklon · 2025-08-17T05:06:24-0400

Tomboy said:
I'm not gonna lie but the range of this system is pretty terrible, you'd have to drop a bouy literally right outside the enemy port for effective communication.

1. Actual range should be significantly better than what's publicly disclosed, though not necessarily by a full order of magnitude.

2. In practice, they're not necessarily employed individually, or so I hear.

3. All sorts of platforms could be used to deploy such communications buoys, including VLO aircraft, submarines and UUVs, never mind "civilian vessels."

para80 · 2025-08-17T08:37:03-0400

There are some notable efforts lately in improving wireless underwater communication via acoustic sweep spread carrier techniques. Euroatlas is a notable example with their Greyshark UUV, which I've written about at Naval News. Range is still limited as noted for broadband/data dense networks, but it is also already better than publicly disclosed. We're talking low double digit NM ranges.

ACuriousPLAFan · 2025-08-17T11:22:20-0400

escobar said:
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Speaking of which, @horobeyo on Twitter pretty much blasted that article, describing it as more of a "wishing" than doing actual analysis.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1956958740521033747

In addition:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1956965943311208864

@vamosrafa23:

If this UUV isn't meant for super-long endurance, then what's the point of making this thing?

@horobeyo, quote posting:

Plus if it’s not for the high-speed travel at around 50 knots, what’s the point of designing a UUV with such a high length-to-diameter ratio? It would only severely compromise maneuverability. This design is contradictory — UUVs require ample equipment capacity, stealth, long range, and flexibility. A larger diameter with a speed below 25 knots would be more suitable, and nuclear propulsion would fit this need.

The higher the speed, the greater the drag, which requires more propulsion power. For non-nuclear UUVs, this means shorter range, which significantly diminishes their operational value.

At 50 knots, propeller cavitation noise becomes extremely loud, which is detrimental to a UUV’s stealth (though it can’t be too slow either, as that would limit operational range and timeliness). Increasing operational depth (e.g. to 1000 meters) can suppress cavitation, but this would also place it far from typical target detection depths.

There’s a reason torpedoes and UUVs have evolved into their conventional shapes — deviating from them only creates unnecessary challenges.

subotai1 · 2025-08-17T11:46:23-0400

I don't think these are directly for offensive use. I think these are platforms that can be used in a variety of ways. This could be everything from an underwater mine layer, to a cable tapper, drone mother ship, moveable sensor (e.g. SOSUS) with countermeasures, etc.

Given their size, they could house a lot of fuel and/or batteries and be very stealthy on their way to a targeted location, simply by moving slowly and avoiding unnecessary sounds.

BoraTas · 2025-08-17T11:56:20-0400

subotai1 said:
I don't think these are directly for offensive use. I think these are platforms that can be used in a variety of ways. This could be everything from an underwater mine layer, to a cable tapper, drone mother ship, moveable sensor (e.g. SOSUS) with countermeasures, etc.

Given their size, they could house a lot of fuel and/or batteries and be very stealthy on their way to a targeted location, simply by moving slowly and avoiding unnecessary sounds.

For the slender one, no openings in the hull is visible. Neither are any masts nor side-looking sensors. It is also built for high speed. Hence seabed warfare, drone mothership, mine warfare or sensor node applications are unlikely. I think it is for underwater communications and/or for EW against sonars (should I call this acoustic warfare?). Its high-speed and -probably- nuclear powered nature would enable it to keep up with SSNs. If not these, it indeed should be a torpedo.

Chinese Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV)

lube

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no_name

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Tomboy

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zyklon

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Tomboy

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zyklon

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para80

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ACuriousPLAFan

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subotai1

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