"Reportedly, it is quieter going 40 kilometers an hour than the Los Angeles-class submarines are at pier side."
That is mind-blowing! How in the world could you possibly pick that out of the clutter!
What I find most concerning is that with their diminishing military ability, they might be more inclined to over-react or take precipitous action. Little guys always seem to like to throw sucker-punches, so they won't get hurt.
And with China and Russia getting cozier all the time, an alarmist might see some growing risk.
Have you come across any such information on the Chinese sub fleet, Jim?
China now has more than 60 subs in its navy, including nine that are nuclear-powered, according to the Pentagon's annual overview last year.
Its mainstay boats are diesel-powered Song-class vessels, but it also is developing more advanced nuclear-powered attack and ballistic submarines, including the Jin class that would carry missiles with a range of 4,600 miles (7,400 kilometers). Nuclear-powered subs can operate longer submerged than their diesel counterparts.
China has a long way to go to match the U.S. Navy _ the advanced Jin subs, for example, would have to be well into the Japan Sea for the continental United States to be within their range.
Here's a link http://www.newser.com/article/d9sbumb80/us-faces-challenge-as-asian-submarine-fleets-swell-sending-battle-for-control-underwater.html
Jim has been posting some interesting and pertinent articles, and some have asked for links to more info. While I don't know where Jim is getting his excellent open-source intel, here are links to some related sites I read regularly.
I read this today, another synopsis of Chinese submarine growth:
http://www.informationdissemination.net/2012/02/plan-conventional-submarine-fleet.html#disqus_thread
That site (http://www.informationdissemination.net) is a wealth of information on Navy matters.
Also,
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/
For military matters in general
http://nosint.blogspot.com/
More Navy-specific news
http://thesubreport.blogspot.com/
Submarine specific news
Just thought I'd add that to this thread for any who may not know about those sites and find them entertaining, as I do!
