China has “dramatically increased” domestic submarine production and is undergoing a shift “to all-nuclear construction,” according to testimony prepared by Rear Adm. Mike Brookes, commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence, for a congressional panel on March 2.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission is hosting hearings on March 2 about China’s growing maritime capabilities, which the commission’s chair, Randall Schriver, stated were testing the global order both on the seas and beneath it.
“China is advancing a growing fleet of increasingly capable submarines, unmanned underwater vehicles, seabed sensors, and sophisticated oceanographic mapping programs,” Schriver said.
Brookes said in his opening testimony that China currently operates more than 60 submarines, one of the world’s largest fleets. Of the 60, six are nuclear-powered attack submarines, at least two are nuclear-powered guided missile submarines, and six are nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Then there are 50-plus diesel-electric vessels….
China Ramping Up Nuclear-Powered Submarine Production: US Naval Intelligence
