Chinese Submarine Captain Reports Major Firepower Breakthrough: Have New YJ-21 Hypersonic Missiles Provided a Serious Performance Boost?

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has made a number of significant breakthroughs in improving its capabilities, according to recent interviews with personnel marking the 70th founding anniversary of the country’s submarine force. In an interview with the state run China Central Television (CCTV), submarine detachment captain Wen Xuexing provided insight into progress in submarine capabilities, stating: "We have achieved historic breakthroughs in terms of maritime verifications on our torpedo attacks and missile attacks. This means that our combat capabilities are stronger, we can reach regions farther away, and we are more confident in our missions.” “The country's submarine force development comprises both nuclear-powered and conventional boats, with nuclear-powered being the main focus," he elaborated at the time. The report featured a rare clip showing a live torpedo hitting the stern of a target ship, following a test attack sinking a retired Type 074 Yuhai Class amphibious landing ship.

Th anniversary of the submarine force’s founding notably closely coincides with the surfacing of a Type 094 Jin Class ballistic missile submarine near the Taiwan Strait on June 18, which was widely interpreted as a show of force aimed at Taipei’s Western supporters in its ongoing conflict with Beijing. The submarine fleet remains one of the few areas where the PLA is still seen to have significant capability gaps not only with the United States, but also with Russia, with experts estimating that the Type 094 and the Type 093 Class nuclear powered attack submarine are slightly less quiet than the latest U.S. and Russian ships such as the Virginia Class and Yasen Class. This is nevertheless widely projected to change with the service entry of their successors the respective Type 096 and the Type 095 ballistic missile and attack submarines in the early 2030s, which are expected to integrate features such as magnetic drive technologies and Rim Driven Propellers, making them potentially the quietest and most efficient nuclear powered submarines in the world. 

The modernisation of the Chinese submarine fleet follows the country's defence sector’s obtaining of primacy in a growing range of areas, from the capabilities of its Type 055 Class destroyer widely considered the world’s most capable class of surface combatant, to those of its J-20 fifth generation fighter the latest variants of which are increasingly considered to be the world’s most capable. Regarding the improvements to submarine missile capabilities referred to by Captain Wen, it has been widely speculated that Type 093 Class ships may have begun to integrate a variant of the YJ-21 hypersonic missile, which was first confirmed to be integrated onto Type 055 destroyers in 2022. Cruising at speeds between Mach 6, with a Mach 10 terminal speed, the missiles have a 1,500 kilometre range and are considered the most capable of their kind in the world - surpassing the capabilities of the new Mach 9 Russian Zircon which has a range of just 1000km. Such missiles would do much to bridge performance gaps with leading U.S. and Russian attack submarine classes, and if confirmed could well make the Type 093 Class the world’s most capable attack submarine class for anti shipping missions due to its very significant missile superiority.