Beijing, August 16, 2025 – China is preparing to showcase a new and hugely unmanned underwater vessel (UUV) publicly during the exercises for the upcoming military parade.
Photos published on Weibo show a very large torpedo -like drone being transported on a platform, confirming the system’s physical existence.
So far, the Chinese authorities have neither officially named the project nor released technical details, but experts are already comparing the concept with the Russian Poseidon, also known as status-6, a long-range nuclear-torpedo presented by Vladimir Putin in 2019 as part of his “super weapon.”
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Possible progress and capacities
Reports from South China Morning Post indicate that Beijing may be researching underwater systems with one-one-nuclear momentum, able to maintain speeds exceeding 30 knots (about 55 km/h) for up to 200 hours. After this time, the reactor would be released to the seabed and the vessel would continue operating on batteries, possibly to conventional attacks.
However, it is still unclear whether the new Chinese UUV will be designed to transport nuclear or conventional charges or whether it will act as a platform for monitoring and strategic deterrence.
Comparisons and mystery
While the Russian Poseidon was designed to travel thousands of miles and attack coastal targets with nuclear heads, it is unclear whether Beijing seeks to replicate this capacity or develop an underwater weapon of another class.
Nuclear researcher Guo Jian from China’s Institute for Atomic Energy stated in a scientific article that there are “significant differences” between the Chinese project and Poseidon, without revealing further details.
Vehicles seen during the parade preparations – some identified as AJX002 – emphasize that China is moving towards the production of large unmanned underwater vessels (XLUUVs). Without official information, however, this new weapon’s real mission remains shrouded in mystery.
Sources and Pictures: Navalnews | Defense-blog.com | X @nickatgreat1220. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
