How China Is Closing the Submarine Gap With the U.S. Navy A somewhat subtle, but nonetheless, important signal of that intention is the PLAN’s fielding of its very first large-size unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV), the HSU001. Here's What You Need to Remember: The robot submarine (and unmanned surface ship) era is now nearly upon us. Chinese naval strategist have, moreover, stated explicitly that they intend to circumvent their long-recognized weakness in submarine warfare by cultivating undersea AI and by developing highly capable UUVs. The Achilles Heel of the Chinese Navy has long been undersea warfare. The Middle Kingdom’s nuclear submarines are considered noisy, with their “boomers” [SSBNs] only recently taking up what might loosely be considered an actual “deterrent patrol.” The diesel force was quite reliant on the imported