054, Virginia submarine, 5B

A retired cadre I met in Tangshan in 2019 often posts things that open my eyes.

Here is one: 南海抓到“大黑鱼”了,美核潜艇被迫投降,丢人丢大发了 ⇒ Google translates: The “big black fish” was caught in the South China Sea, and the U.S. nuclear submarine was forced to surrender.

 

I know nothing about submarine and 054 but felt the story doesn’t hold because there is NO coverage in the media (在各大网络平台上疯狂传播 ⇒ Spread wildly on major online platforms) as the post repeatedly claimed. Google 054A submarine Virginia, Chrome returns nothing and  Safari returns two headlines from the same website, only three hours apart: Happy! The 054A frigate caught a big fish in the South China Sea, suspected of forcing the US military to attack nuclear submarines.   

According to wiki 054A is a frigate, a.k.a. warship: first revealed in 2005 in Guangzhou’s Huangpu Shipyard, and entered naval service in 2007. The cost is ¥1.4 billion ($212 million) and so far 50 is planned and 31 had been built.  Apparently, Pakistan Navy has four of them. 

It looks small, to an untrained eye. Can it detect the SSN-774 Virginia-class submarine which is powered by nuclear?  

On the subject of “在各大网络平台上疯狂传播 ⇒ Spread wildly on major online platforms”, the wreckage of Long March 5B rocket’s debris crashing into India Ocean last night, is wildly covered by the major media, which promoting NASA Administrator Bill Nelson accusing China in a rare statement, “failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.” Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said, “It appears China won its gamble. … But it was still reckless.”

Had other countries done the same in the past, when technology isn’t as advanced as it is today?