据两位美国防务官员透露，中国的最新一艘核动力潜艇在春季沉没于船坞，中国海军试图掩饰这一损失。
这艘攻击潜艇是“周”级系列舰艇的第一艘，正在武汉附近的一个船厂建造中。“周”级潜艇具有独特的X形尾部设计，旨在提升其水下机动性能。Maxar Technologies 于3月10日拍摄的卫星影像显示，该系列潜艇停靠在港口，拥有标志性的X形状尾翼。CNN审核了后续6月更晚日期的Maxar影像后发现，这艘潜艇并未回到码头。
“对于中国人民解放军海军尝试掩饰他们的首艘同类新型核动力攻击潜艇沉没的消息并不意外。”一名高级美国国防官员评论道。“我从未见过一连串起重机聚集在同一个地点的情况，”经常研究中国船厂卫星图像的中心安全新美国研究员汤姆·舒格尔特向CNN表示，“如果回顾历史影像，你会看到只有一个起重机存在，并非大量集中在那里。”
通过对比该造船厂较旧的卫星图片，舒格尔特还注意到潜艇较大的尺寸和独特的尾部设计，这表明它属于一个新的潜艇系列。“通常，在潜艇下水后，它们会在船厂进行几个月的装设工作。但现在它不在那里了。”他说。
中国政府已将解放军海军及其潜艇部队的现代化作为优先事项之一，目标是建立与美国相匹敌的世界级军队。根据2023年的中国军事力量报告显示，人民解放军海军目前运营六艘核动力弹道导弹潜艇、六艘核动力攻击潜艇和48艘柴油动力攻击潜艇。
而美国海军则拥有53艘快速攻击潜艇、14艘弹道导弹潜艇和四艘导弹防御潜艇。整个美国潜艇舰队均使用核能动力。
至于那艘沉没的潜艇，美军高层表示，目前还不清楚是否已经加载了核燃料，还是当潜艇沉没时并未加注燃料。
《华尔街日报》首先报道了这起潜艇事故的消息。中国驻华盛顿大使馆发言人在回应时指出：“我们对您提到的情况不熟悉，并且当前没有相关信息可供提供。”
此外，中国还在扩大其生产新潜艇的能力。即使中国人民解放军海军淘汰旧潜艇，在2025年预计中国的潜艇数量将增加至65艘，到2035年将达到80艘，这得益于其不断增长的潜艇建造能力，根据美国国会研究服务（CRS）的数据。
在舰船总数上，中国海军拥有世界最大规模，拥有约370艘平台，其中包含234艘战舰。相比之下，美国则有219艘战舰。
对于美国而言，中国政府被视为长期的“优先挑战”。国防官员指出，这次事件引发了对解放军内部问责制和对中国国防工业监督的更深层次疑虑——后者长期饱受腐败困扰。
新闻来源：www.cnn.com
原文地址：China’s newest nuclear-powered submarine sank earlier this year, US officials say
新闻日期：2024-09-26
原文摘要：
China’s newest nuclear-powered submarine sank pierside in the spring and the Chinese Navy tried to conceal the loss, according to two US defense officials. The attack submarine was the first of its new Zhou-class line of vessels, the official said, under construction at a shipyard near the city of Wuhan. The Zhou-class submarines have a distinctive X-shaped stern, designed to improve maneuverability underwater. A satellite image from March 10, taken by Maxar Technologies, shows the Zhou-class sub, with its signature x-shape tail, docked at the port. Additional Maxar imagery reviewed by CNN from later in June shows that the sub did not return to the pier. “It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside,” said the senior US defense official. The unusual activity at the shipyard was first noticed by Tom Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security who routinely studies satellite imagery of Chinese shipyards. “I’ve never seen a bunch of cranes clustered around (one spot),” Shugart told CNN. “If you go back and look at historical imagery, you can see one crane, but not a bunch clustered there.” In looking at older satellite images of the same shipyard, Shugart also noticed the submarine’s larger size and its distinctive tail, indicating a new class of submarine. “Usually, those submarines, after they get launched, they’re there at the shipyard for several months in outfitting. And it wasn’t there anymore,” Shugart said. Beijing has made the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and its submarine force one of its highest priorities as it seeks to build a world-class military on par with the United States. According to the latest China military power report from 2023, the PLA Navy operates six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines, and 48 diesel-powered attack submarines. The US Navy has 53 fast attack submarines, 14 ballistic-missile submarines and four guided-missile submarines. The entire US submarine fleet is nuclear-powered. The senior defense official said it is unclear whether nuclear fuel had already been loaded onto the submarine or if the vessel was unfueled when it sank. The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the submarine’s sinking. A spokesperson from the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, said: “We are not familiar with the situation you mentioned and currently have no information to provide.” China is also working on expanding its ability to produce new submarines. Even as the PLA Navy retires older submarines, China is expected to have 65 submarines in 2025 and 80 in 2035 because of the growth in its submarine construction capacity, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). China has the world’s largest Navy by number of ships. The PLA Navy has 370 platforms, which includes 234 warships, according to CRS, while the US has 219 warships. The US has identified China as its long-term “pacing challenge.” In a swipe at the Chinese industrial base, the defense official said, “The incident raises deeper questions about the PLA’s internal accountability and oversight of China’s defense industry—which has long been plagued by corruption.”
