China's Subs Getting Quieter

The Chinese Navy appears to be stressing quality over quantity as it modernizes its submarine force, according to a U.S. Navy intelligence report. But China still has a way to go on quality. Some of its newest submarines are as noisy as subs built decades ago.

Nuclear-powered Jin-class ballistic missile submarines are designed to give China's naval force, known as the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), "a credible second-strike capability," the U.S. Navy said in an August intelligence report that surfaced briefly on the Office of Naval Intelligence Web site, then vanished. The report was captured and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

The Jins - there are two in service - are more advanced than China's first-generation Xia ballistic missile submarines, but they're not exactly stealth machines.

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