Chinese researchers have developed a new gravity-based detector that could be used to find submarines and render the proposed AUKUS submarine redundant.

Chinese technological advance is very likely to put another downer on the AUKUS submarine program. As I have previously detailed in Pearls and Irritations, the Chinese have been researching how to detect submarines using high-energy microwave synthesis technology. Now, as reported in _Interesting Engineering_, they are working on how to pinpoint ‘monsters of the deep’ by means of a gravity-based detector.

Led by Zhang Yingzi, a team from North University of China is building on previous breakthroughs made at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The current research places China at the forefront of developing this technology.

What makes this gravity-based detector such a breakthrough is that unlike traditional submarine detection methods – sonar, radar or magnetic – which can be partially thwarted using the right countermeasures, this method cannot be deceived. A heavy object like a submarine cannot be hidden in terms of its gravitational effects. Mass cannot be turned off, reduced or absorbed. 

The method works using a highly sophisticated magnetometer........

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