China’s ‘submarine without a command tower’ is revealed

China’s towerless submarine first appeared in satellite images on June 1, when docked at the wharf at Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai city. Naval website Naval News It is estimated that the warship has been present at its current location since the end of May.

The mission and propulsion system of this submarine are unknown, as well as whether it is manned or not.

HI Sutton, a naval expert, estimates that China’s new submarine is about 120 m long and 10-11 m wide, larger than diesel-electric submarines and even longer than some nuclear-powered submarine models.

For comparison, China’s Type-093 class nuclear attack submarine is 108-110 m long and 11 m wide, while the US Virginia class is about 115 m long and more than 10 m wide.

Submarines without a conning tower can use a pump-jet propulsion system. This design has many advantages such as high speed and lower noise compared to propellers, increasing the submarine’s ability to hide, achieving higher efficiency at all speed ranges, bringing many benefits when operating in shallow seas or near shore.

However, pump-jets are often heavier, more complex and more expensive than traditional propeller engines.

The vehicle appears to have an X-shaped tail rudder, a design that first appeared on a Chinese submarine in 2024.

“This type of arrangement helps the ship have high mobility and efficiency, and is safer than the traditional cross rudder design. The X-shaped tail rudder is a feature related to China’s new generation nuclear attack submarine, nicknamed Type-095,” Joseph Trevithick, editor of the US military website War Zonecomment.

Trevithick assessed the absence of a command tower as the most notable element of Chinese submarines, as the overall design was significantly optimized by eliminating large structures protruding from the hull.

“This minimizes drag, increases speed and maneuverability when diving, helps the submarine operate smoothly and is more difficult to detect, even when moving at high speed. This is an especially useful feature when the ship faces many threats,” Trevithick said.

However, the lack of a command tower also leads to some limitations. On a traditional submarine, this is where the periscope, sensors, antennas and snorkel are installed so the vehicle can ventilate without having to surface.

When moving in a floating state, the command tower also helps the crew navigate and observe their surroundings, support the protection of local forces and receive supplies. Some Russian and American submarines have reinforced command towers to penetrate many meters of ice, allowing them to surface in polar regions.

“New submarines appearing in China seem to focus on operating in the ocean and away from the surface, where the command tower and related components are less needed. The design of the ship also focuses on improving performance, including the ability to move as fast as possible,” Trevithick said.

A submarine without a conning tower, 45 m long, about 4.5 m wide and with a traditional cross-shaped tail, appeared at the Jiangnan factory in 2018. China seems to have built the ship to test and evaluate the new design.

At the aviation exhibition in Zhuhai city in 2024, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) also displayed an unmanned diesel-electric submarine model with an unprecedentedly large size. The overall design of the model has many similarities with the prototype at the Jiangnan factory.

According to CSSC, unmanned submarines (UUVs) can perform many tasks such as attacking enemy warships, laying mines, supporting special forces and launching smaller UUVs.

Shipyards around the world and navies of many countries have researched the design of submarines with low command towers in the past, but they are often only theoretical or have undergone limited testing.