China’s Navy Deploys Two New Nuclear Powered Ballistic Missile Submarines

China’ People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has inducted two new strategic nuclear submarines into service, shortly before the Navy marks its 71st anniversary. The warships are enhanced variants of the Type 094 Jin Class design, and are designed to carry out ballistic missile strikes on enemy targets at intercontinental ranges in the event of a nuclear war. Enhancements over the original Type 094 design include upgraded radars and sonars and integration of new torpedoes. The submarines can carry 16 JL-2 ballistic missiles each, although these are expected to begin to be replaced by the more advanced and loner ranged JL-3 missiles around 2025. The JL-3 has undergone a number of flight tests but has yet to enter into service, and has a range of over 10,000km. 

The PLA Navy is expected to deploy eight Type 094 Class submarines, with the first entering service in 2007. A new and more capable class of ballistic missile submarine, the Type 096 Class, is currently under development with construction expected to begin in the coming two years. The newer submarines will deploy JL-3 missiles from the outset and will be able to deploy up to 24 of these - providing each warship with enough firepower to destroy several countries with a single salvo. The new submarines are expected to be considerably quieter and therefore more difficult to detect and more survivable than their predecessors. Ballistic missile submarines remain one of the few outstanding fields where China’s Navy faces a considerable disadvantage relative to Russia and the United States, although the speed and which it the PLA has improved its capabilities means it its likely to close the gap before 2030.