Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported on May 2 that, according to Chinese military sources and analysts, the newly delivered nuclear-powered submarine to the Chinese Navy is equipped with China’s most powerful submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and can strike the United States. Earlier, Chinese official media revealed that the new strategic missile nuclear submarine recently received by the South Sea Fleet is China’s latest Type 094A modified strategic nuclear submarine.
The report quoted a source close to the Chinese Navy as saying that the Type 094A Jin-class modified strategic nuclear submarine is capable of launching the Julang-3 (JL-3) submarine-launched ballistic missile with a range of more than 10,000 kilometers. The JL-3 SLBM underwent a successful test on June 2, 2019, and was believed to bring a major shift in the focus of China’s nuclear triad strategic power.
The source said that compared with its predecessor 094, the Type 094A modified strategic nuclear submarine “overcomes one of the key problems – noise, which enables it to carry JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missiles which are more powerful.” The source further noted that the 094A submarine with the JL-3 missiles will have a strike range “capable of covering the entire American continent.”
China always need to be on guard to protect oneself when history clearly showed that there are too many wolves around the table.