Navy

China tests radical magnetic propulsion system that could make nuclear submarines almost silent

China has developed a new magnetic propulsion motor that could make nuclear submarines far stealthier, state media have claimed.

According to a new report, the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) has tested the country’s first permanent system of this kind, paving the way for quieter and more elusive high-speed vessels.

The new magnetic drive, if successful, could bring the Chinese navy more on par with the US and other Western naval forces.

‘Submarine and anti-submarine technology and capabilities have long been considered a weak link in Chinese naval power,’ Eric Wertheim, author of Combat Fleets of the World, told Motherboard.

‘It appears that they are making concerted efforts to address this shortfall.’

Engineers around the world have long been working to create reliable magnetic ship drives.

Such propulsion systems could vastly reduce the noise emitted by vessels; according to Chinese media, this particular system could cut noises down to their lowest levels.

In a statement from the CSIC’s official WeChat public account, officials claim a Chinese patented permanent magnet motor was tested on naval vessels docked at Sanya, in South China’s Hainan Province.