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New Large Chinese Submarine With Very Unique Feature Just Caught On Satellite Imagery

A large submarine apparently designed without a traditional sail has emerged at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, captured in June 1 satellite imagery from Vantor and reported by Naval News and The War Zone. Sail-less designs trade away the raised structure that carries periscopes, sensor masts, antennas, and snorkels in exchange for streamlining, reduced drag, lower acoustic signature, and higher submerged speeds. The hull also features an X-form rudder configuration and what may be a shrouded pumpjet propulsor, both consistent with quieter, faster operation.

Naval News analyst H.I. Sutton estimates the boat at roughly 120 m (394 ft) long and 10 to 11 m (33 to 36 ft) wide, larger than China's Type 093 nuclear attack submarines and longer than the US Navy's Virginia class. Its designation and intended role are not known, though the lineage is traceable: JN Shipyard launched a smaller (~45 m) sailless demonstrator in 2018, and parent firm CSSC displayed a giant uncrewed underwater vehicle of similar hullform at Zhuhai in 2024. The US Navy has worked in adjacent territory, with a Large Scale Vehicle Range subscale demonstrator in Idaho and a 2021 contracting notice for inflatable sail concepts, but those efforts have remained experimental.

\\ TWZ

New Large Chinese Submarine With Very Unique Feature \\ Source: Vantor & TWZ

\\ Signal Watch

Boeing Validates MQ-28’s Radar Cross Section \\ The Aviationist

Boeing has announced the completion of radar cross-section testing on its MQ-28 Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft, with the airframe placed in an anechoic chamber to measure the radar return produced by design features including side intakes, cranked-kite wings, and canted V-tails. The company has not disclosed actual RCS values. The test arrives in an active program cadence: the MQ-28 completed its first three flights over the Point Mugu Sea Range in May for its US debut, the AIM-120 AMRAAM was live-fired from the platform in December 2025, and an E-7 Wedgetail has controlled two MQ-28s in tests against simulated airborne targets. The program now spans 55 Australian companies with reported funding above $600 million.

Germany’s new unmanned helicopter just flew for the first time \\ Defence Blog

German firm AVILUS flew the first prototype of its Wespe 9Y-01 unmanned helicopter. The platform is built around an operational gap the company says is becoming difficult to fill with crewed aircraft: casualty evacuation across contested airspace, where air defense and drone threats make low-altitude medevac approaches increasingly costly. The Wespe carries a stated 200 to 350 kg (440 to 770 lb) payload across 300 km (186 mi) at a 120 km/h (75 mph) cruise, with modular mission bays for a medical cabin, cargo drops, or targeting systems. AVILUS says the airframe packs into a 20-foot ISO container and can navigate without GPS via onboard autonomy.

\\ Quick Links

South Korea joins elite club of nations that can build laser weapon \\ Defence Blog

The Pentagon says laser weapons are nearly ready for prime time \\ Fast Company

US hypersonic race: Pentagon’s 5 next-gen weapons and programs shaping the future \\ Interesting Engineering

India Elevates Missile Strike Accuracy With Next-Gen Electronic Guidance System \\ NextGen Defense

U.S. Army IBEX exoskeleton aims to help wounded soldiers self-evacuate from the battlefield \\ Defence Industry Europe

Ukraine’s New FPVs Hit Targets Sixty Miles Behind Russian Lines \\ Forbes

Germany doubles down on night-fighting laser gear for soldiers \\ Defence Blog

Chinese firm sells radar stealth coating for drones \\ Defence Blog

AUKUS allies launch new undersea drone project \\ DefenseScoop

ESNA Unveils Surface Effect Ship Technology for UK-Norwegian Joint Commando Craft Program \\ Naval News

How America Lost Its Most Important Defense Tech Habit \\ War On The Rocks

Helsing unveils Area 9 research division and launches RX-1 robotics platform designed and built in Europe \\ Defence Industry Europe

\ Podcast \ : Defense tech is flooded with money, but who’s built to last? \\ TechCrunch

“It’s really an understanding of what acquisition officers and operational commanders do. How are we a combat multiplier? And how we can take a system that is historically slow, and how can we weaponize that system to be flexible and responsive for the warfighter?”

Col. Christopher Hill, director of the Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate

\\ Beyond the Beam

Chinese physicists achieve 20x laser interaction boost without extra power using quantum tech \\ Interesting Engineering

US-Made Wireless Power System Unlocks ‘Perpetual Flight’ for Drones \\ NextGen Defense

The MQ-28 Ghost Bat airframe placed in an anechoic chamber during radar cross-section testing \\ Source: Boeing

\\ Opportunity Intel

DARPA wants to replace GPS dependence with new class of sensors \\ Defence Blog

U.S. Special Forces wants to make its combat divers harder to detect \\ Defence Blog

FCDO plans 2.7bn security and resilience framework \\ UKDJ

Army pushes open-API architecture in Fort Carson hackathon to link sensors, shooters and C2 networks \\ Military Aerospace

A Cyber Force budget would require at least $10 billion, new commission report says \\ Breaking Defense

European Commission opens €20 million call to support IRIS² user terminal industrialisation \\ Defence Industry Europe

How the Pentagon plans to spend $50 billion on drone warfare \\ Defense One

AI Forge: Accelerating AI breakthroughs for national security \\ DARPA

The Navy wants next-generation munitions, so it’s spending millions on innovation hubs \\ Defense One

The NATO Innovation Badge \\ UKDJ

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