China denies drone strike threat against US west coast

China is developing extra-large unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) not to strike the US west coast, as some American analysts fear, but to address threats in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

According to the South China Morning Post, Yan Zheping, head of the unmanned systems department at Harbin Engineering University’s College of Intelligent Systems and Engineering stated that China’s extra-large UUVs are primarily focused on regional security and coastal defense reconnaissance, while also supporting civilian research and environmental monitoring.

He emphasised that these systems are intended mainly to “counter US military operations in potential Taiwan Strait or South China Sea contingencies, instead of conducting trans-Pacific strikes.”

China has already unveiled the HSU001 and AJX002 UUVs, each around 20 meters long. Western media have reported the alleged existence of a “classified variant” over 40 meters, raising US concerns. Some American defense experts speculated that such vehicles could enable Beijing to target locations on the US West Coast.

Yan noted that the next-generation extra-large UUVs will be equipped with miniature nuclear reactors for extended underwater operations and feature quantum and neutrino communications for stealth data transmission. 

They will also employ advanced artificial intelligence for autonomous decision-making. He described the development of these UUVs as not merely a technical ambition but a reflection of the country’s strategic resolve and industrial capability.

By Jeyhun Aghazada