China's deep sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver) has recently completed assigned tasks with Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior), a 4,500-meter manned submersible, in the South China Sea at a depth of 1,500 meters, marking the first time that two manned submersibles have been put into a joint operation in China. 

During the joint operation, the two completed multiple tasks including underwater real-time positioning, voice communication, target search and recovery, and rapid mobility and collaborative task. 

Jiang Lei, a researcher at the Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the joint operation proved that the two manned submersibles, supported by two research support mother ships, can conduct simultaneous and coordinated dives in the same operating area.  

The operation also made it possible for a scientific research support mothership to guarantee simultaneous diving with two manned submersibles, which could not only reduce operation and maintenance costs, but also improve the operational capacity of Chinese submersibles and improve operational efficiency, Jiang added. 

At present, China has three manned submersibles besides for Striver and Deep Sea Warrior.

The country's first self-developed deep-sea manned submersibleis is Jiaolong (Sea Dragon), which has an operational depth of around 7,000 meters.

In November 2020, the Striver set a national record by diving into a depth of more than 10,000 meters in the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest natural trench in the western Pacific.