IRIA News

A short video of a China-built submarine that emerged on February 8 has intrigued analysts. The footage shows a mini-submarine being tested in a river somewhere in China. People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is expected to soon deploy mini-submarines in the shallow waters of the Taiwan Strait.

The plans for a family of mini-submarines were initially unveiled by China in 2017 when China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) announced its new line of mini-submarines named MS200, S600, and S1100.

Although there has not been an official statement released by China on the progress of these mini-submarines, independent sources have confirmed that China is now carrying out tests for its mini-submarines. The mini-submarine that can be seen in the footage is the MS200 export variant.

MS200 is 36 meters long and 3.6 meters wide diesel-electric-powered conventional submarine that has a displacement capacity of 200 tons and a range of 1500 nautical miles. For comparison that how small these mini-submarines are, China’s flagship Yuan-class submarine is 77.6 meters long and has a displacement capacity of 3600 tons. These mini-submarines are even smaller than some of the convectional frigates and patrol vessels.

We appear to have a new Chinese mystery submarine. This one notably smaller than existing designs outside of the equally mysterious “sailless” type. @CovertShores with what we know. Images via now deleted Twitter post (linked in piece).https://t.co/DcDmoVsDr9 pic.twitter.com/meTDxhw3Uy

— Alex Luck (@AlexLuck9) February 8, 2022

With the rising threat of a conflict in the Taiwan strait, the mini-submarines can act as the front line of naval attacks in order to infiltrate Taiwan’s military ports and naval bases. The submarines can also be used to lay down naval mines, ambush Taiwanese naval operations, deploy special operation teams as well as enforce the blockade against Taiwan.

Apart from their use in Taiwan strait for PLAN, China is also making export variants for mini-submarines. Thailand, Pakistan, and Myanmar are expected to be the top buyers for these shallow-water submarines because of their ability to stay close to the shores. The Gulf of Thailand is only 45 meters deep which makes it really hard for a conventional submarine to maintain stealth while operating there. Initially, Thailand expressed interest in acquiring China’s Yuan-class submarines, however, after China’s plans to make capable mini-submarine, Naval forces operation around the Gulf of Thailand can opt for the mini-submarines as a stable substitute to carry out the underwater operation in shallow waters. The same can be expected from Pakistan for its Arabian sea operations and the Persian Gulf.

All the world navies are in a race to build bigger, better, and more powerful submarines, however, when it comes to their mobility, speed, and stealth, the advantage of being big in size becomes a disadvantage. All U.S. Navy submarines are nuclear-powered and highly capable of carrying heavy armament, however, these traits become a disadvantage in operations when these huge submarines are operating in shallow waters or close to shores. In October 2021, U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet’s Nuclear powered submarine USS Connecticut smashed into a geological formation while it was submerged in the South China Sea. This incident raised a lot of questions about the safety of the nuclear-powered submarine and their ability to operate in tight spaces.

China is not the first country to consider adding a fleet of mini-submarines into its naval strength. Iran and North Korea are prominent users of these submarines with a substantial amount mini-submarines operating in their naval fleets.  North Korea has one of the largest fleets of mini-submarines that includes at least 40 Sang-O and Sang-O II class mini-submarines as well as 40 Yugo and Yuno class mini-submarines. In 2010, North Korea allegedly used one of its mini-submarine to launch a torpedo in order to take down South Korea’s Pohang-class corvette Cheonan, killing 46 of the 104 crew members on board.

Iran also has a fleet of at least 31 mini-submarines that includes its indigenously produced Besat, Fateh, Nahang, and Ghadir class mini-submarines. Iran usually operates its mini-submarines around the Persian Gulf which is also a shallow body of water.

With China now stepping in to enhance is its fleet of mini-submarine for operations in the Taiwan strait, and exporting them to other navies, it can be speculated that other large-scale navies would soon follow producing and upgrading their own fleets of mini-submarines starting a new race of powerful mini-submarines for the shallow waters.