REPORT: Chinese developing super submarine that could reach Washington coast in 2 hours flat

A Chinese Navy submarine attends an international fleet review to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army Navy on April 23, 2009 off Qingdao in Shandong Province. (Photo by Guang Niu/AFP/Getty Images)



The Chinese military is reportedly developing a supersonic submarine that could cross the entire Pacific Ocean in just 100 minutes.

That means Shanghai to San Francisco (or the Washington coast) in 2 hours flat.

The South China Morning Post reported the new sub design would look more like a torpedo and reach speeds as fast as 3,600 miles per hour.

To achieve that kind of speed underwater a craft needs to travel inside an air bubble to reduce the water drag.

The South China Morning Post story says the breakthrough made by Chinese researchers is called supercavitation and allows the sub to create such a bubble by constantly showering itself with a special liquid membrane.

The Chinese newspaper says so far the researchers have only tested unmanned subs.