Chinese submarine stealthily approaches US aircraft carrier – details

The article recounts a 2006 incident where a Chinese Song-class diesel-electric submarine stealthily approached the US aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk to within about five miles off the coast of Okinawa. American forces only detected the submarine after it surfaced. The piece also draws parallels with exercises by the Swedish submarine Gotland and describes the development of China's submarine fleet.

The article recounts a 2006 incident where a Chinese Song-class diesel-electric submarine, displacing about 2,200 tons, stealthily approached the US aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk to within about five miles. The incident occurred on October 26 off the coast of the Japanese island of Okinawa. The carrier, displacing about 80,000 tons, was accompanied by approximately ten warships, an attack submarine, and anti-submarine helicopters. American forces only detected the submarine after it surfaced during a routine observation flight. Details of the incident remained classified. One theory was that Beijing deliberately demonstrated its submarines' ability to stealthily approach US carriers. The article also draws parallels with exercises by the Swedish submarine Gotland, which during maneuvers starting in 2004 repeatedly breached the anti-submarine defenses of a US carrier group. It notes that China continued to develop its submarine fleet, with Song-class boats being succeeded by Yuan-class submarines equipped with air-independent propulsion.