we basically have the british and the americans building single hull 10m wide pressure hull boats that are roughly the same in stealth performance from what I hear. I'd have a hard time to believe that Astute class is quieter than the latest VA though because I heard that China didn't have much trouble tracking Astute class when CSG21 made their fateful visit to SCS back in 2021. If i was RN, I'd be embarrassed at how badly I was exposed there.
Virginias aren't
terribly different (=technologically superior) from contemporary Astutes(not to a degree that makes them tactically unequal). In fact, Astutes are more traditional, deep water, dedicated hunter-killer subs (mini-seawolf sort of) - and arguably that matters more than the relative US tech advantage.
Virginias'annoyance isn't their direct sub spec quality(they're by default suboptimal) - but their annoying degree of adaptability and all-roundness. They can do almost everything, almost everywhere, and good - and that's a very annoying quality to deal with.
Overall, current stealth performance(by which we mean passive acoustic stealth) for the big 4 sub nations (and China, afaic, is closing the gap faster than it's perceived) is close enough to each other to not bother(mutual detection inequality is measured in hundreds of meters) - unlike aircraft, for subs this approach is an investment of diminishing return(the lesser Db levels, the lower the actual detection range discrepancy.
Furthermore, Sonars relying on external low-frequency 'lightening' sources(not sure the exact English term) don't give much shit about either, large conventionally-shaped subs are to be visible regardless. That's about Astutes (Virginias, Yasens, SSN21s).
Thus, at least within SCS and provided assets are in place, both are quite trackable.
Furthermore, we always have to keep in mind, that while navy and subs is a highly tech-enabled field, technology is the enabler, not an ultimate determinator.
The average level of UK sub captains is considered to be higher than the US ones. And in subs, individual talent
does still matter, as on the frigates of old.
IIRC, a couple years ago there was news/outcry that in a mock duel of two Russian boomers, 667BDR(not even BDRM!) captain wiped the floor with the crew of the newest Borei-A. That's an old, classic Reagan era 'loud cow' for you.
Now add Chinese 093/094 boats into
their backyard environment and with this example - and things turn significantly. Worse acoustic isn't really a show stopper for Chinese boats - it's more of a chance for AUKUS boats to somewhat level the playing field - at least within the 1st chain and when the said system is undisturbed/unsupressed.
Not from what I hear. The Yasen class boats are probably quiet enough to be comparable to early Virginia class, but I wouldn't say that about any of the other boats they have. Especially not the boomers
Subs evolve in parallel (their series are long enough) - later Boreys are way quiter than earlier ones, so are Yasens; these boats are build long enough so improvement literally can go boat by boat(Virginia construction cycle is ~6 years, Yasen - ~8-9, - both quite long). And, overall, all of them are within ~comparable silencing brackets; they evolve in parallel.
In fact, in pure sub tracking tracking, Russian boomers are actually more complicated (despite their relatively larger signatures) to track than Yasens, because they're
waterjet ships.
Yasens are SSGNs, and due to the very nature of their mission (instead of high average combat speeds, SSGN places premium on quiet stalking and
dash speed) - even if they're quieter and much more aware of their surroundings(their sensors are outrageously huge) - tracking them is actually simpler just because of that.
Plus, unlike the boomers, they don't really get help from ASW traps, specifically designed to throw off unwanted 'tails'. SSBNs are a loved wife of the navy, SSNs/SSGNs are to a much, much larger degree left to solve their shit by themselves.
Maybe to provide to India? Because I really don't think China needs any help from them.
Again, keep in mind that in the recent 60 minutes report, US commander explicitly said that Chinese nuclear subs are 1 generation behind America. Which really surprised me, because that means the latest 093A (the very last 2) is probably at an early 688i level in noise level or maybe 093B will be there. That's quieter than any Victor III class and comparable to Improved Akula (despite being a whole lot narrower & less space for noise mounting and such)
Current/near future state of Russian sub tech is represented by 885M, 885B and Laika respectively.
Given the relatively large amount of both research and construction(in sub procurement it means accumulated experience, and is worth
a lot) - i'd frankly argue that Russian input is likely more valuable than British/French ones ... and parts where Russia is weaker just happen to be parts where China really doesn't need too much support.