Type-039(G) (Song)

The Type 039G (Song class) is a diesel-electric attack submarine operated by the People's Liberation Army Navy. It features a teardrop hull design and anechoic tiles for reduced acoustic signature, capable of launching torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.

Developed in the 1990s to replace obsolete Romeo- and Ming-class vessels, the Type 039 series represented China's first fully indigenous conventional submarine design aimed at modernizing the People's Liberation Army Navy's underwater fleet. Following design corrections to the initial prototype's sail, the improved Type 039G variant entered active service in 2001. The class gained international attention in October 2006 when a Song-class submarine successfully shadowed and surfaced undetected within torpedo range of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Although largely succeeded by the air-independent propulsion-equipped Yuan-class, approximately a dozen Song-class submarines remain active, serving as a vital bridge to China's modern submarine doctrine.