Improved Yuan
The first boat of a much improved Yuan class (Type 039B?) was just launched at Wuhan Shipyard on September 9, 2010. This class has been speculated to feature a new sonar system (flank sonar arrays?), a new surveillance and targeting system (periscope, radar etc.), and a new weapon system (possibly long-range AshM launched from torpedo tubes). The submarine also adopts some advance features learned from the Russian 636 class design, such as the hull mounted retractable foreplanes. The sail appears wider but more hydrodynamically streamlined and stretched compared to that of 039A which might house a short-range SAM system for self-protection against slow-moving ASW aircraft. Its submerged displayment might have been increased to 4,200t. As the result its noise level is expected to have been further reduced. However there is no indication that 039B carries a towed array sonar. The overall performance of the improved Yuan (may be assigned a new class name by the west in the future) is thought to be comparable to the latest Japanese Soryu class SSG.