via Wash Times - EFL
Ooooh! All sources unnamed and anonymous. Big surprise.
By Bill Gertz - July 16, 2004
China's naval buildup has produced a new type of attack submarine that U.S. intelligence did not know was under construction, according to U.S. defense and intelligence officials. The submarine was spotted several weeks ago for the first time and has been designated by the Pentagon as the first Yuan-class of submarine. A photograph of the completed submarine in the water at China's Wuhan shipyard was posted on a Chinese Internet site this week and confirmed by a defense official as the new submarine. Wuhan is located inland, some 420 miles west of Shanghai. One official said the new submarine was a "technical surprise" to U.S. intelligence, which was unaware that Beijing was building a new non-nuclear powered attack submarine. U.S. intelligence agencies have few details about the new submarine but believe it is diesel-powered rather than nuclear-powered, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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Anonymous. Of course. Seems the Straits will be crowded. Wonder if Hong Kong can spare some of those nifty natty traffic cops... Meanwhile, IIRC, there was some asshat who sold non-cavitating propeller design secrets to China about a decade ago... |