Myanmar's Mystery Submarine

The Myanmar Navy has acquired two patrol submarines in recent years. Firstly an KILO Class submarine from India, and then a MING Class submarine from China. But there is another third boat. The brown water of the Yangon River hosts this unknown submarine.

The submarine has a waterline length of around 37 meters, putting it in the category of coastal submarines. It does not match any known types.

Yangon, April 30, 2023. Airbus image via Google Earth.

One hypothesis would be that it was built in China. That is feasible. But it has a different layout to the known unique Chinese types. Most obviously, it has sail-mounted hydroplanes, and a somewhat blunt bow. The closet match is a small submarine built in Wuhan in 2014, but again it isn't a great match.

I think that single hull construction is most likely. The hull is likely large enough for two or four torpedo tubes.

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