The USS California (SSN-781), at the time a pre-commissioning unit, sails from Norfolk, Virginia, in September 2011. The US Navy and PLAN bring different strengths to a submarine war in the Indo-Pacific, though the US Navy’s ample submarine experience could give it a slight edge. (US Navy/Mass Communication Spc. 2nd Class William Jamieson)

Virginia Class vs. Type 095: Which Submarine Rules the Indo-Pacific?

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It is difficult to know whether the American or Chinese submarine would win in a head-to-head fight, particularly because China has said so little about the Type 095’s capabilities.

As tensions rise between the United States and China, and as the Indo-Pacific becomes contested, tech comparisons between US and Chinese war machines are becoming relevant.

In the potential battle for control of the vast Pacific Ocean, a crucial component will take place deep underwater, where US and Chinese submarines would play a deadly cat-and-mouse game with surface vessels—and sometimes each other. The US Navy’s Virginia-class attack submarines would hunt People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) submarines, surface combatants, and potentially........

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