Trial described as bridging ‘last mile’ from deep-sea equipment development to engineering application, suggesting deployment is coming next
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenZhang Tongin BeijingPublished: 6:01pm, 15 Apr 2026A Chinese deep-sea mission has successfully tested an advanced device capable of cutting through underwater structures such as submarine cable at a depth of thousands of metres.
The “Haiyang Dizhi 2” research vessel completed its first deep-sea scientific mission of 2026 last Saturday, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
“The sea trial has bridged the ‘last mile’ from deep-sea equipment development to engineering application,” the official China Science Daily reported on Saturday, suggesting the equipment was now poised for actual deployment.
An electro-hydrostatic actuator, or EHA, integrates the hydraulic system, electric motor and control unit into a single compact device, eliminating the external oil piping typical of conventional systems.
