US nuclear submarine weak spot in bubble trail: Chinese scientists
- Extremely low frequency electromagnetic signal produced by speeding subs can be picked up by available devices, researchers say
- The almost imperceptible bubbles could give away the position of most advanced submarines, but more research is needed
The US is widely believed to operate some of the most difficult to detect submarines, with sophisticated acoustic and vibration reduction systems to blend them into the background noises of the ocean.
Carl Schuster, a retired US Navy captain and former director of operations at the Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Centre in Hawaii, told CNN in April that “submarines are one area where the United States retains unchallenged superiority over China”.
But the study, by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, found an ultra-sensitive magnetic detector could pick up traces of the most advanced submarine from long distances away.
The team, led by Zou Shengnan, used computer modelling to determine whether it was possible to detect the almost imperceptible bubbles produced by a nuclear-powered submarine cruising at high speed.
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The result “provides a new solution for the detection and tracking of submarines”, according to the paper published on August 1 by the Chinese Journal of Ship Research.