bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Stephen Chen

China has announced plans to upgrade a civilian network of ­sensors and communications technology deep in the Western Pacific that it says is used in scientific research.
But analysts said the PLA could already be using a military-grade version of the communications technology to contact submarines operating far from base.
Buoys anchored between 400 and 500 metres beneath the surface of the Western Pacific would be upgraded this year, state media quoted scientists involved in the project as saying.
The researchers said the ­submerged sensors helped with research into areas such as ­climate change and ocean ­currents, and the upgrade would allow the equipment in the buoys to send data directly back to bases in China via satellite technology, Xinhua reported on Sunday.
China had deployed hundreds of buoys, including nearly 20 deep anchor points, in the Western ­Pacific since 2014, Xinhua said.
Is China’s latest space mission a step towards PLA tracking of nuclear submarines?
The data can only be collected from the buoys once a year by manually retrieving hard drives as it was difficult to make radio contact with the sensors through the water, Wang Fan, deputy director of the Institute of Oceanology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Qingdao, said.
The new technology will enable the deep-sea buoys to send ­data to surface anchor points through a cable or wireless sound waves. The surface buoy will then relay the information to a communication satellite.
The civilian system works at the operational depth of most nuclear submarines, suggesting the military could already be using a similar undersea network to communicate with submarines, according to other scientists familiar with the technology.
The Chinese acoustics research that might help shield submarines from sonar
The data collected could also aid naval operations, according to research scientists. Readings of water speed, temperature and ­salinity collected by deep-sea ­sensors would help Chinese ­submarines avoid harmful turbulence, they said.
The buoys might also record and monitor the passage of submarines from other nations. The Western Pacific is close to numerous countries involved in maritime disputes with China, including Japan and the Philippines.
China is also increasingly concerned about growing US military activity in the area as Beijing makes more assertive claims to territory in the South China Sea.
China and US in silent fight for supremacy beneath waves of South China Sea
Lockheed Martin said six years ago it was developing similar technology for US submarines.
Nuclear subs can receive messages but not reply to them when underwater, according to the company. To send a message the submarine has to surface, which increased the risk of being spotted or attacked.
A solution proposed by the US company, then still under development, also involved a surface buoy to establish a link between the craft and a satellite. The new system was dubbed the “first two-way communication method for submarines at depth”. The buoy could be deployed either by plane or launched from the submarine’s waste disposal chute.
Professor Li Xiaodong, director of the communication acoustics laboratory at the Institute of Acoustics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the technology faced many challenges.
In deep, quiet waters, wireless communication with sound waves could be achieved at distances over 10,000 metres, he said.
But the effective range dropped quickly in the presence of background noises such as ship engines or whale calls.
“The technology works better in distant oceans than offshore ­areas,” he said. “The real advance is that they seem to have solved the problem of the long-term ­operation [of deep-sea buoys] with low power consumption for satellite communication.”


China tests super wireless rail convoy that could carry 3 Eiffel Towers

Chinese scientists report way to extract hypersonic weapon fuel boron from seawater

China’s lab fungus produces low-cost, meat-like protein to replace chicken farms

China trials unmanned trucks on world’s highest mine, 5,600 metres from sea level

Science

Does China’s deep-sea tech upgrade point to submarine signals network under Pacific?

Analysts say PLA military chiefs might already be using their version of a network of sensors and communications technology deep under the sea to make contact with submarine commanders operating far from home. Photo: AFP

Is China’s latest space mission a step towards PLA tracking of nuclear submarines?

Chinese scientists are working on a space-based device that could track gravitational ripples produced by submerged submarines

Cacs, the world’s first cold atomic clock in space with unprecedented timing accuracy. Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences

China's Tiangong 2 space lab is launched on a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, in China's Gansu province, on September 15, 2016. China launched its second space lab on September 15, as the Communist country works towards setting up its own space station. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO / AFP PHOTO / -

The crew disembarks after taking positions on board for the commissioning of the U.S. Navy attack submarine USS North Dakota (SSN 784) Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014 at the Navy submarine base in Groton, Conn. USS North Dakota is a $2.6 billion attack submarine is capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, delivering special forces and carrying out surveillance over land and sea. (AP Photo/The Day, Sean D. Elliot) MANDATORY CREDIT

Tiangong-2 space lab in ground testing. Credit: Xinhua

Shenzhou XI mission commander Jin Haipeng (left) is a major general in the People’s Liberation Army, while crew member Chen Dong is a colonel. Photo: EPA

News

China

Politics

Technology used for undersea research has clear military applications, including improving communications with submarines, say experts
