Unless that sail has been slowly inflating over the last few weeks (not impossible...) then I am wondering how anybody can have called this a 'sail-less' sub?!
New SSN (09X?) thread
- Thread starter ACuriousPLAFan
- Start date
It's amazing what claims you can get away with when the pixel count is in the single digits.
If real then this new submarine is barely a improvement over the old 09III series in sail size and far larger than sails on USN 774 boats. Seems like even my conservative estimates earlier is too optimistic.
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Compare to this image from a week or so ago:
Scaffolding around the (then) smaller sail now appears to have gone and a larger sail now appears. Perhaps panelling to disguise the true shape of the sail?
So what's the purpose of this sub it's not sailess and it looks only longer than the 095 unless it's the 095A but launching the original and improved model at the same time make sense?
The only way this makes sense imo is that this is the 095 and the chubby one is a pure hunter sub like seawolf or the other way around
The only way this makes sense imo is that this is the 095 and the chubby one is a pure hunter sub like seawolf or the other way around
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My gut feeling is that it's most likely just a scaffolding structure that makes the sail appear larger than it actually is, when fitting out work on the sail is underway. The sail didn't look as large earlier.
However, I don't see the merit of disguising the sail shape, given how the public will eventually see the sail once the submarine is out at sea anyway.
My favored notion is that this is indeed 09VA, and the short interim between the two launches im February and now indicates the February boat remains a one off, whereas this and the new Bohai boat are the finalised design (for now). The reasons for the short interval could be manifold and remain inscrutable to outside observers.
MSS people at Huludao (where the nearest civilian airport is at least 32 kilometers away from the shipyard, with a no-fly zone enforced over the shipyard): *sips tea while watching the newspaper on the sofa*
MSS people at Shanghai (where the nearest civilian airport is only 19 kilometers away, with civilian jetliners on final approach directly overflying the shipyard): "FUUUUUUUUUUUU"
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You mean somewhat similar to Russian one-off 885 and mass production 885M, only in much faster succession?