Вата, говно будешь?

Ni hao, Trump - the Chinese have created
cable cutter

Preamble. SCMP.com is the official web resource of the South China Morning Post (SCMP), an English-language news publication founded in Hong Kong in 1903. The publication covers events in China, Asia and the world, often with an emphasis on the Chinese perspective. Since 2016, the media outlet has been owned by Alibaba Group, which raises questions about the independence of its editorial policy.

Here's what the article is about:

"China unveils powerful deep-sea cable cutter that could reset world order

Beijing now has the ability to disrupt global communications after scientists discovered a device capable of cutting undersea cables

China has unveiled a compact, deep-sea cable-cutting device capable of severing the world's most fortified undersea communications or power lines - and it could upend the dynamics of global maritime energy.

This revelation marks the first time that any country has officially disclosed that it possesses such an asset capable of disrupting critical undersea networks.

The tool, which is capable of cutting lines at depths of up to 4,000 metres (13,123 feet), twice the maximum operating range of existing submarine communications infrastructure, was designed specifically to integrate with China's advanced submersibles such as the Fengzhou, Striker and Haidou series, as well as unmanned submersibles.

Developed by the China Shipboard Science Research Centre (CSSRC) and its affiliated State Key Laboratory of Deep Sea Manned Vehicles, the device targets the steel-, rubber- and polymer-sheathed armoured cables that underpin 95 per cent of global data transmission.

While it was created as a tool for civilian rescue and seabed mining, its dual-use potential could be a wake-up call for other countries.

For example, by cutting cables near strategic locations such as Guam, which is the linchpin of the US military's second island chain, a defence strategy used to deter China, the tool could significantly destabilise global communications during a geopolitical crisis.

The design of the cutting tool overcame several huge technical challenges encountered at depth, according to a team led by engineer Hu Haolong in a peer-reviewed paper published on 24 February in the Chinese-language journal Mechanical Engineer.
At a depth of 4,000 metres, the water pressure exceeds 400 atmospheres. The device's titanium alloy housing and oil seals prevent explosion even during prolonged use.

Traditional blades also cannot cope with the reinforced steel cables. The solution, according to Hu and his colleagues, was a 150mm (six-inch) diamond-coated grinding wheel that rotates at 1,600 rpm - enough force to break the steel while minimising disturbance to marine sediments.

Installed on submersibles with limited energy budgets, the kilowatt motor and 8:1 gearbox balance torque (six newton metres) with efficiency, although prolonged cutting can lead to overheating.

The tool is operated by robotic arms in near-zero visibility and is designed to work with advanced positioning technology to avoid misalignment.

The device's debut comes at a time when China is expanding its position in subsea infrastructure. Beijing now operates the world's largest fleet of manned and unmanned submersibles capable of reaching any part of the world's oceans.

And Japan's only manned submarine, the Shinkai 6500, faces retirement without a successor in a few years.

Guam remains a cornerstone of the US strategy in the Indo-Pacific, with more than a dozen fibre-optic cables serving both military and civilian customers, including Google.

A Chinese tool operating from stealthy unmanned platforms could exploit such bottlenecks without surfacing - a scenario that has been increasingly debated in military research circles since unknown assailants blew up a Russian gas pipeline running along the seabed during the war with Ukraine.
But Hu's team insists that the tool, which has been successfully tested to cut 60mm thick cables in land-based experiments, is helping "develop marine resources".

👇