• Source:JND
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China anti-submarine technology: Submarines, long considered the most stealthy weapons in modern navies, could now lose their invisibility factor. Recent Chinese reports indicate that Artificial Intelligence (AI) aided by magnetic wake detection can revolutionise anti-submarine warfare, subjecting traditional stealth techniques to being rendered ineffective.

AI-Powered Anti-Submarine Warfare System

Research conducted by Meng Hao of the China Helicopter Research and Development Institute, which was published in the Electronics Optics & Control journal, identifies an AI-powered anti-submarine warfare (ASW) system that can detect even the most silent submarines. Working as a wise battle commander, the system combines information from sonar buoys, radar, underwater sensors, and oceanic factors like temperature and salinity. Published in the Electronics Optics & Control journal, the study outlines how AI can detect and track even the quietest submarines in real-time.

• Detects submarines through real-time sonar, radar, and environmental information
• Tracks magnetic wakes (Kelvin wakes) behind ships
• Predicts evasive maneuvers such as silent running and zigzagging
• Sustains high detection rates even against decoys and drones
• Coordinates multiple AI agents for rapid, automatic decision-making
• Reduces human cognitive load with AI-assisted interfaces
• Enables fully integrated multi-domain tracking across air, surface, and underwater platforms

Submarine’s Hidden Weakness

In addition to AI, Chinese scientists at Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an have explored a method to track submarines via ‘magnetic wakes’. Submarines disturb the Earth’s magnetic field as they move through water, creating faint ‘Kelvin wakes’ that linger even after the vessel passes.

For example, a Seawolf-class submarine travelling at 24 knots and 30 metres depth generates a magnetic field detectable by current airborne magnetometers. Unlike sound-based detection, which submarines can counter with acoustic dampening, these magnetic footprints cannot be silenced, representing a critical vulnerability, said Associate Professor Wang Honglei.

Simulated Success and Tactical Advantages

In computer simulations, the AI system located submarines with an accuracy of 95 percent, even when they deployed decoys or drones It uses a three-layered architecture, perception, decision-making, and human-machine interaction. It predicts submarine movement patterns like zigzagging or silent running, and it updates search patterns in real time.

The system also utilises large language model-based interfaces to support human operators, taking complex sensor data and AI plans and converting them into clear-language suggestions, lessening cognitive workload during high-stress missions.

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Implications For Global Naval Strategy

Submarines have always been asymmetric weapons, with the potential to launch nuclear attacks, gather intelligence, and attack carrier groups without being seen. The US Navy, with approximately 70 nuclear-powered subs, still depends on stealth and decoys as a principal deterrent. But with the advent of AI and magnetic detection, older submarine tactics may be much less effective, experts caution.

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Later versions of China's AI system would bring drones, surface vessels, and unmanned underwater devices together in a three-dimensional tracking network, further eroding submarine stealth benefits. The results point to the possibility that the age of the undetectable submarine is near its end, which could redesign naval combat patterns around the globe.