China's Submarines Keep Proving They Could Sink a Navy Aircraft Carrier

In 2006, a Chinese Song-class submarine stealthily surfaced within five miles of the USS Kitty Hawk during a U.S. Navy exercise near Okinawa, demonstrating a level of stealth that caught American forces off guard.

What You Need to Know: In 2006, a Chinese Song-class submarine stealthily surfaced within five miles of the USS Kitty Hawk during a U.S. Navy exercise near Okinawa, demonstrating a level of stealth that caught American forces off guard.

-The Chinese submarine’s close approach highlighted the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN’s) growing prowess in submarine warfare, underscoring a major vulnerability in U.S. carrier defenses. This unanticipated appearance echoed again in 2015 when a Chinese Kilo-class submarine shadowed the USS Ronald Reagan.

-Both incidents are stark reminders of the PLAN’s advancing underwater capabilities, emphasizing the need for enhanced U.S. anti-submarine warfare (ASW) readiness.

That Time a Chinese Submarine Surprised a U.S. Carrier Strike Group

Given the heightened tensions that exist between Beijing and Washington, a Chinese submarine wouldn't likely make a surprise or otherwise unannounced appearance in the middle of a U.S. Navy carrier strike group (CSG) during an exercise near the Japanese island of Okinawa. Such an incident is the sort of thing that neither side would like to see happen.

However, the situation was very different on October 26, 2006.

While the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and her escorts were taking part in drills, a Chinese Song-class submarine shadowed the CSG and then surfaced just five miles from the carrier. By all accounts, the U.S. Navy's conventionally powered supercarrier was being screened by as many as a dozen ships, yet, somehow the Chinese boat slipped through.

David Vs. Goliath at Sea – David Won!

By all accounts, the U.S. Navy seriously underestimated the capabilities of the Chinese Navy, notably its submarine fleet.

Brandon J. Weichert, writing for The National Interest explained, "As the US Navy battle group was going about its business, the crews of her expensive and sophisticated warships all comfortable in the knowledge that they had the best onboard defenses that US tax dollars could buy­and no one in Asia would be crazy enough to dare come close to them while at sea­the Chinese Song-class submarine surfaced within visual (and, therefore, torpedo) range of the battle group's flagship."

Weichert added that the 160-foot long diesel-electric submarine, which was equipped with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, "could have easily popped off a couple of torpedoes" directly at the USS Kitty Hawk, possibly sending the carrier and the nearly 4,500 personnel on board to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Instead, the boat's captain simply opted to mock the crew of one of the U.S. Navy's most formidable assets.

It also allowed Beijing to make clear to Washington – and the world – that its naval capabilities shouldn't be underestimated. As the Daily Mail reported back in 2007, the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN's) Song-class subs "are extremely quiet and difficult to detect when running on electric motors."

"It was certainly a wake-up call for the Americans," Commodore Stephen Saunders, editor of Jane's Fight Ships, and a former Royal Navy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) specialist, told the UK tabloid. "It would tie in with what we see the Chinese trying to do, which appears to be to deter the Americans from interfering or operating in their backyard, particularly in relation to Taiwan."

The PLAN Has a PLAN

The capabilities of the PLAN have only gotten better. Earlier this year, Maya Carlin also writing for The National Interest, noted that just a decade later in 2015, a Chinese Kilo-class submarine shadowed the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) for more than a dozen hours.

The U.S. Navy should be very concerned that China could be tracking its carriers and other vessels unobserved. Beijing doesn't need to launch a strike at Pearl Harbor or other U.S. military facilities. Instead, it could cripple the U.S. Navy by employing its stealthy subs to sink America's flattops.

The incidents in 2006 and then in 2015 should be wake-up calls, and Washington needs to stop ignoring them.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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