Black Trimaran and other unusual submarine concepts.

The mysterious vehicle of the PLA. It is a trimaran that can operate underwater. And surface. 

China’s new trimaran. It can operate on the surface and underwater. These kinds of systems are new tools for the military. Or maybe we should say that those systems are the ultra-high-tech return to the past. During the Second World War. Submarines were actually surface ships. That had a submerging capacity. Before the end of the war. 

The submarines got the snorkel system that allowed them to operate underwater during their patrol missions. And after that, almost all submarines had the primary role as an underwater patrol vehicle. But there are plans to create submersible landing vehicles. The Soviets planned those landing vehicles. 

Those were based on the same technology used in Oscar and Typhoon-class submarines. Those landing vehicles would carry troops, and maybe they planned to be catamarans, with an air cushion between their hulls. Those large sizes. Nuclear-powered systems should carry troops and equipment to the targeted ground. And then those things were delivered from the keel hatches and ramps. 

The purpose of those air cushions. Were that. They allowed those giant vehicles to get close enough to the beach. And then those vehicles could also travel back to the sea without getting stuck. Those air cushion systems are not mentioned in the film. But those systems require some kind of air cushion or auxiliary vehicle.  That they get close enough to the beach. Or they should use only small amphibious tanks that could not challenge main battle tanks.  

There are also plans for cargo submarines. Those submarines would revolutionize transportation. The problem is that those vehicles require nuclear reactors to be effective. The nuclear-powered systems in the wrong hands are always dangerous. If nuclear material gets into the wrong hands, that can be dangerous. The new small nuclear reactors can turn almost any vehicle in the world. Into nuclear-powered.

T-72 tanks have snorkels that allow them to operate underwater. It’s possible that those tanks had high enough sonars. That they could operate in quite a deep bottom. As you can see from the film. T-72 has fixed tubes. And that limits its use. Those systems are not quite effective, because they are close to the surface and easy to detect. But they could be more effective if they could drive deeper. 

If the snorkel has two elastic tubes. That allows those tanks. To operate deeper. Those are connected to the buoy. The other is for engine air intake, and the other is for exhaust gas. The length of those tubes determines the depth. These kinds of systems can operate. 

There are some plans. To make nuclear-powered versions of those submarine tanks. The tank-submarines. Could have torpedoes in racks. And they could shoot them to the bottom of ships or submarines. But that requires more effective motor systems than the diesel system. 

The Chinese trimaran is the drone system. Its length is 13 meters. So it can be. The mock-up test unit for larger-scale systems. There are many things that it could be. There is a possibility that the trimaran-submarine acts as a mothership for VTOL drones. It can also launch. Things like Shahed- and Geran type drones from underwater and surface. Those drones can also be a hybrid system. The electric engine drones. That can operate in the air. And underwater. Those drones can be equipped with different types of warheads, including high-explosive anti-tank. 

That kind of warhead. Makes even small drones. Able to make holes in the hulls of other submarines. That  Chinese drone. It might be diesel-electric powered. That doesn’t mean that those drones cannot use internal nuclear warheads. Another thing is that. Those systems can be test vehicles. For the new types of warships. It can operate either submerged or surfaced. Those vehicles can operate with commandos. Or if their size is large enough, they can transport larger units to a beach. Those systems can also act as a computer center. That supports drone and other operations. 

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/10/unusual-black-trimaran-drone-ship-spotted-in-chinese-shipyard/

https://www.twz.com/sea/chinas-mysterious-submarine-ship-hybrid-breaks-cover