China plans to expand ‘manta ray’ submersible fleet with eye on reconnaissance roles
- State broadcaster’s military channel reports ambitious plans for vessels which were initially used to monitor coral reefs
China is expanding its fleet of coral-monitoring submersibles and plans to build larger models that could also be used for reconnaissance purposes.
The soft-body submersibles are designed to resemble manta rays and move in similar ways.
The earlier versions, some of which were painted to resemble cartoon characters, were small and lightweight and designed to monitor coral reefs, but state broadcaster CCTV’s military channels said the size and scope of the devices would be expanded.
“This year, we are preparing to carry out deep-sea applications of 800kg [1,765 pounds] class [submersibles],” Cao Yong, a professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University told CCTV.
He added: “We will even develop a tonne-class prototype in the future, which can carry more powerful payloads and sail farther, including … future integrated reconnaissance and strike [roles].”
Cao’s team began developing a submersible for coral reef monitoring in 2006, studying the swimming patterns of marine organisms for their prototypes, the report said.
They successfully began monitoring marine life in the South China Sea earlier this year, monitoring outbreaks of species such as the crown-of-thorns starfish, which threaten coral reefs by feeding on them.