Secretive China enhances its SSBN fleet and weaponry
These are improved Type 094A SSBN of the PLA Navy. (Photo: PLA Daily)
There is growing evidence that production of new nuclear-powered submarines is proceeding in China, as well as a startling declaration that new submarine-launched nuclear-tipped missiles are already in service.
Recent revelations show that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been prioritising the modernisation of its submarine fleet, especially a recent statement from the US military that China has operationalised the JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM).
Adm Sam Paparo, head of the US Pacific Fleet, told reporters at a conference in Washington DC last week that the PLAN’s six Jin-class (Type 094) submarines are now ‘equipped with JL-3 intercontinental ballistic missiles’.
This bombshell was reported by news outlets such as Bloomberg, and it is the first official confirmation from the US that the capable JL-3
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