【Military Sub-Plane】Author: Le Le
Recently, a new type of domestic conventional submarine has appeared on the Internet, and some of the information on the surface of the water is that its unique command platform shape is believed to be the latest model of the domestic 039 conventional submarine, but for now, this view has not been officially recognized. It has to be admitted that as the absolute core of the current domestic conventional submarine force, the development of the 039 series of conventional submarines has experienced more than 30 years. In this process, the 039 successfully started from a far behind performance, and gradually achieved the goal of catching up with the international advanced conventional submarines, although it is not as dazzling as the 30-year glorious transformation of domestic destroyers from 052 to 055, but it is also a typical representative of the Navy not to be left behind, catching up, and finally reaching the world's advanced level.
▲ It is considered to be the new domestic submarine of the latest model of the 039
In the 1980s, the mainland and the Western countries entered a rare honeymoon period, and all militaries took this opportunity to have close exchanges with Western countries, and the navy was no exception. In addition to the most well-known "Super Hornet" and "Dolphin" helicopters imported from France, which eventually evolved into domestic imitations of the Z-8 and Z-9, which were successfully carried on naval ships (the "Super Hornet" also completed the crucial task of salvaging the data warehouse of the DF-5 intercontinental test). It also imported the Sea Sidewinder short-range anti-aircraft missile from France, as well as a series of advanced weapons and equipment obtained from other countries, including sonar, radar, naval guns and so on.
▲ The Z-9C is still widely used in the Navy today
Of course, in addition to these hardware equipment, the navy benefited the most from the advanced design ideas from Western countries, which was just received in the 50s of the Soviet Union's design ideas, due to changes in the situation, completely turned into a self-developing Chinese navy, the most urgent need at that time. In fact, after the domestic full combination of its own industrial development level, and the advanced design concept obtained from the West, completely out of the previous 051 destroyer Soviet design concept, completely completed the construction of a new generation of 052 type destroyers, and finally through the continuous improvement of 052B, 052C, reached a very excellent height in the 052D.
▲ The 052D is a very good destroyer
Similarly, the 033 and 035 series submarines built during the Cold War in China, the technical prototypes were also provided by the Soviet Union like the 051 destroyers, which were significantly backward in the 90s. Therefore, the Navy also opened the construction of a new generation of domestically produced Type 039 submarines, just like the development of the 052 model, with the 701 as the main design unit, and the first 039 began construction in 1992, launched in 1994, and finally entered service in 1996.
▲The first generation of Type 051 destroyers has been completely retired
In the future, the 039 is too large due to the technical span, and the first Type 052 "112" Harbin ship, after service, due to imperfect technology, the actual combat effectiveness is greatly reduced. In particular, the stepped design of the command platform shell has a great impact on its performance, so the construction of the 039 basic type is only 1. On top of it, the Navy built an improved model known as the 039G, carrying a series of locally produced equipment. The relationship between the two is somewhat similar to that of the Type 052 destroyer, the first "112" Harbin ship, and the second "113" Qingdao ship. That is to say, there is not much difference in the comprehensive performance of the surface, but the latter will improve a series of immature equipment on the former to a mature and usable state, and the actual combat effectiveness has been greatly improved.
▲039G submarine model
In fact, it is also in the construction process of 039 and 039G that the construction technology of the second generation of conventional submarines has gradually been explored. In addition, because the Navy faced greater military pressure during this period, 12 "Kilo" class conventional power submarines were introduced from Russia, and in the process of their use, a large number of advanced technologies from Russia were mastered. As a result, the Navy finally began the mass production of a new generation of 039A based on the construction of the 039G and the experience of using the "Kilo" class, and its first boat was successfully launched in 2004.
▲ "Kilo" class submarines transported to China by semi-submersible ships
The relationship between 039A and 039G is somewhat similar to the relationship between the 052-type "113" Tsingtao ship and the 052B, especially the external anechoic tile that first appeared on the 039A, which has obvious technical inheritance with the Russian "Kilo" class, and indeed greatly reduces the noise of the 039A, which is similar to the source of medium-range ship-to-air missile technology carried by the 052B, which is the Russian "Hyundai" class destroyer. Generally speaking, 039A is regarded by the outside world as a typical symbol that the mainland has basically digested the core technology of the "Kilo" class submarine and begun to apply it to domestic advanced submarines. After this, due to the relatively mature technical performance of the 039A and the performance is quite excellent, it quickly entered service in the Navy. After entering 2010, thanks to the comprehensive development of the domestic military industry, the Navy has further optimized on the basis of 039A and developed an improved model called 039B.
▲ The Russian blood on 039A is very strong
In addition to the further upgrade of the weapons and equipment, submarine enclosures and anechoic tiles carried on board, the biggest feature of the 039B is that it is equipped with a new generation of air propulsion systems that do not rely on air propulsion systems, catching up with the development trend of global submarines, with the ability to sail underwater at a lower speed for nearly 2 weeks without floating charging, and is a new model based on 039A, integrated into the domestic design and application concept, basically reaching the position of the Navy 052D, in the domestic destroyer sequence. For now, due to the particularity of the submarine's own underwater activities and the fact that the 039B has not been officially disclosed on a large scale, it is difficult for the outside world to understand its specific performance.
▲The spectacular scene of the 039 series submarines lined up
However, a few years ago, the Pakistan Navy reached an agreement with the mainland to purchase 8 S-20P submarines derived from 039B, and the entire contract was worth $5 billion, which caused a sensation at the time. It is generally believed that Pakistan, in view of its successful historical experience, has always attached great importance to the submarine force, regarding it as the most deterrent maritime power against the Indian aircraft carrier formation, and has always only considered the procurement of advanced conventional submarines from France, Germany and other countries. The willingness to purchase the 039B's improved S-20P at a high price not only shows that the cooperation between the two countries in the military field has been further deepened, but also confirms that the performance of the 039P has reached a fairly excellent level, reaching the advanced level of the world's third-generation conventional power submarines.
▲S-20P promotional screen
With the further development of domestic military ship technology, the new submarines further optimized on the basis of 039B are bound to serve in the navy on a large scale in the near future, and will no longer be in the embarrassing state of mass production of 039 basic levers more than 20 years ago. Although its performance is destined to be inferior to that of attack nuclear submarines with larger tonnage, faster speed and stronger endurance, at present, the situation in the sea around the mainland is complicated, especially in the face of severe realities in coastal waters, advanced conventional power submarines of a certain scale are still a very effective and flexible underwater backbone in addition to nuclear submarines. Even when the future navy rushes to the open sea, this group of underwater forces that are like fish in the offshore seas are still indispensable and excellent underwater defenders of the continental navy.