The cat-and-mouse incident between the British AUG and the Chinese type 093 submarines is overgrown with details
As you know, numerous Chinese military experts and knowledgeable observers are literally unanimously trying to refute the authenticity of the information of sources in the British Defense Department about the discovery and identification a month earlier in the South China Sea of three multipurpose nuclear submarine cruisers of Project 093B / G "Shang" of the PLA Navy by operators -hydroacoustics of Project 23 HMS "Kent" (F78) and HMS "Richmond" (F239) and HMS "Richmond" (F08) anti-submarine frigates, as well as the Astute-class multipurpose nuclear submarine, now and then denouncing Whitehall military officials and the British media of boasting and pompous praise and overestimation of tactics -technical parameters of the onboard SACs of the above-mentioned surface combat ships and a multipurpose submarine that transited through the water area of Biendong as part of the AUG marching order led by the aircraft carrier HMS "Queen Elizabeth" (RXNUMX).
Another deliberate move by Whitehall PR specialists or a real hydroacoustic dive in the waters of the South China Sea?
Indeed, in this case, we have every reason to believe that the refutation of the information about the direction finding of the Shan-class submarine by the sonar means of the British AUG, put forward by the Chinese expert circles, has a right to exist.
After all, the skill of Whitehall's public relations and alarmists, who attach sacred significance to almost every long-distance cruise of warships fleet Her Majesty, then frightening the population of Foggy Albion with the exit of our submarines of pr. 949A to the launch lines of 2-fly anti-ship missiles 3M45 Granit across London, and sometimes even praising the hastily fictional operation of the British anti-submarine forces "to suppress the penetration of diesel-electric submarines of the" Halibut "and" Varshavyanka "in the water area of the Irish Sea", one can only envy.
At the same time, it would be extremely naive to underestimate, let alone belittle, the tactical and technical parameters of in-hull active-passive sonar systems installed on multipurpose nuclear submarines of the Astute class, as well as low-frequency sonar stations based on flexible extended towed antennas (GPBA ) deployed on Duke-class frigates.
In particular, the Astute class MAPLs integrated into anti-submarine combat information and control systems, the Type 2076 in-vessel wide-aperture SAC (designed by the military-industrial giant Thales) have phased acoustic arrays based on an array of 13 hydrophones.
In terms of the levels of resolution, sensitivity and noise immunity (the ability to effectively select propeller noises and acoustic portraits of enemy submarine hulls in the "sneaking" mode against the background of other noises of artificial and natural origin), these hydroacoustic systems are at the level of such the most advanced SACs in modern stories submarine construction, such as MGK-600 "Irtysh-Amphora-Ash" (installed on the domestic ultra-low-noise multipurpose nuclear missile submarines pr. 885 / M "Yasen / -M") and AN / BQQ-10 / B, installed on American multipurpose nuclear submarines classes "Virginia Block II / III".
Under normal hydrological conditions, the SJSC Type 2076 boasts the ability to take direction finding of underwater objects with an acoustic noise level (acoustic signature) of the order of 80-100 dB at a distance of 200-230 kilometers or more (in the third far zone of acoustic illumination / convergence), while objects with a smaller acoustic signature of the order of 60–65 dB can be tracked in the first far zone of acoustic illumination (at a distance of 50–70 km).
It is most likely that such a level of acoustic noise is characteristic of the Chinese MAPLs of project 093B / G "Shang", which do not have water-jet propellers with advanced fenestrons, which reduce the acoustic signature of submarines.
Therefore, the information about the discovery of a Shan-class submarine following the British AUG transit course several tens of kilometers ahead of the British warrant may well correspond to reality.
Indeed, to prevent a reduction in the distance between the order of the British AUG and the Chinese MPS, the crew of the second had to maintain a speed of about 15 knots, which inevitably increased the acoustic signature of the Shan, revealing its location for the Type 2076 sonar complex of the Astute class submarine.
Do not underestimate the GAS Type 2087 based on flexible extended towed antennas located in the rear of the Type 23 "Duke" frigates.
Being a conceptual and constructive analogue of the domestic GPBA "Vignette-EM", this GAS from the Thales concern is capable, in the active sonar mode (with the use of a low-frequency emitter), to locate a large MAPL of the "Shan" type at a distance of 35–70 km with an accuracy of about 2 degrees ( depending on the hydrological situation) even if the latter operates in the "sneaking" mode at a speed of 3-5 knots.
Moreover, it is well known that Chinese specialists have much less experience in the design of specialized sound-absorbing coatings than, for example, the employees of SPMBM Malakhit, who developed the multipurpose nuclear submarine of project 885 Ash, or General Dynamics Electric Boat / BAE Systems ”, which have designed and carried out regular modernization of Virginia class MPSS.
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