Amy Chang, Indigenous Weapons Development in China’s Military Modernization. US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Apr 5, 2012 http://www.uscc.gov/researchpape ... ft-03-April2012.pdf
(page 7: "The collection of data for this study has relied solely on open sources, primarily from official government documents (e.g., Department of Defense annual reports, Congressional testimonies, Chinese government white papers), as well as information drawn from reputable media or scholarly sources. No effort has been made to check this data or analysis against materials kept within classified channels")
(b) Type 041 submarine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_041_submarine
(NATO code name Yuan class; successor of the Type 039 [NATO code name Song class])
Both 041 and 039 are attack submarines AND AIP (air-independent propulsion).
(c) US might or might not be surprised by the four weapon systems discussed in the USCC report. But I have my doubt, about capabilities of China's military-industrial complex. For example, the second weapon system, SC-19 featured in anti-satellite test (ASAT) succeeded only twice (against a satellite and a missile).
(5) Elisabeth Bumiller, Smaller Navy Ship Has a Rocky Past and Key Support. New York Times, Apr 6, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/0 ... idents-backing.html
("One of the two $700 million ships completed so far has had a major leak and crack in its hull, while the other is at sea, testing equipment that is failing to distinguish underwater mines from glints of light on the waves. More ominously, a report late last year by the Pentagon’s top weapons tester said the ship /is not expected to be survivable in a hostile combat environment'")
My comment
(a) The new ships are Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs).
(b) There is no need to read the rest.