Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Type 096 |
Operators | People's Liberation Army Navy |
Preceded by | Type 094 (Jin class) |
General characteristics | |
Type | SSBN |
Propulsion | Nuclear reactor |
Armament | JL-3 SLBMs (?) |
The Type 096 (NATO reporting name: Tang class) [1] is a projected class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) for China's People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force. The submarine is expected to begin construction in the early 2020s and be armed with the JL-3 SLBM. [2] [3]
Recent analysis deduced that China is on track to complete the first Type 096 and make it operational before the end of the decade. [4]
The Type 096 will be compared to the most modern Chinese submarines in terms of stealth, sensors and weapons. The capabilities of the Type 096 is speculated to be a significant jump to its predecessors, which would flip the balance in the Indo-Pacific. [4] In November 2023, satellite imagery on the Huludao shipyard showed pressure hull sections for a large submarine being worked up, which was then stated to likely be the Type 096 in early construction. [4] The vessel is also speculated to be significantly larger than the old Type 094 and follows a design similar to that of Russia's; allowing it to contain an internal raft mounted on complex rubber supports that helps dampen the noise of the submarine's engines. [4]
The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It is composed of five sub-branches: the Surface Force, the Submarine Force, the Coastal Defense Force, the Marine Corps and the Naval Air Force, with a total strength of 350,000 personnel, including 70,000 marines and 30,000 naval aviation personnel. The PLAN's combat units are deployed among three theater command fleets, namely the North Sea, East Sea and South Sea Fleet, which serve the Northern, Eastern and Southern Theater Command, respectively.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China. It consists of four services—Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force—and four arms—Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, Information Support Force, and Joint Logistics Support Force. It is led by the Central Military Commission (CMC) with its chairman as commander-in-chief.
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capability. They can fire missiles thousands of kilometers from their targets, and acoustic quieting makes them difficult to detect, thus making them a survivable deterrent in the event of a first strike and a key element of the mutual assured destruction policy of nuclear deterrence. The deployment of ballistic missile submarines is dominated by the United States and Russia. In fact, 70% of nuclear warheads in the USA are carried by SSBN submarines.
The Project 633 class is a class of Soviet diesel-electric submarine, built between 1957 and 1961. A Chinese variant, Type 033, was built in China from 1962 to 1984.
The Type 092 submarine was the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) deployed by the People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force.
The Type 091 is a first-generation nuclear-powered attack submarine produced by China. It was the People Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) first nuclear submarine, and the first indigenously produced nuclear attack submarine in Asia.
The JL-2 is a Chinese second-generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) deployed on the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) Type 094 submarines. It succeeds the JL-1 SLBM deployed on the Type 092 submarine.
The Type 094 is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force. The Type 094 succeeds the Type 092 submarine and precedes the Type 096 submarine, which is under development.
The People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force is the surface warfare branch of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), consisting of all surface vessels in operational service with the PLAN. The PLAN Surface Force operates 661 ships organized into three fleets: the North Sea Fleet, the East Sea Fleet and the South Sea Fleet.
A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and strategic bombers with nuclear bombs and missiles. Countries build nuclear triads to eliminate an enemy's ability to destroy a nation's nuclear forces in a first-strike attack, which preserves their own ability to launch a second strike and therefore increases their nuclear deterrence.
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The Type 037 corvette is a series 400–500 ton corvette type classes in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy. Unlike western navies, the People's Liberation Army Navy does not have dedicated patrol boats in its inventory. Instead, a large variety of corvette type classes, in the form of missile boats and submarine chasers fulfill the tasks of patrolling China's territorial waters. The Egyptian Navy operates eight vessels.
The People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force (PLANSF) is the submarine service of the People's Liberation Army Navy. It consists of all types of submarines in operational service organized into three fleets: the North Sea Fleet, the East Sea Fleet, and the South Sea Fleet. Submarines have long been one of the three focuses of the People's Liberation Army Navy, and when the decision was made in late 2006 to concentrate on building other principal surface combatants to strengthen the air defense and to further delay the construction of aircraft carriers due to insufficient air cover, submarines will continue to play the lead dominant role in the assault force for the PLAN. Currently, PLANSF operates a fleet of 66 submarines which include nuclear as well as conventional submarines.
The Type 095 is a planned class of third-generation nuclear attack submarines for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China. It is anticipated that the Type 095 submarine will have a substantially reduced acoustic signature, within an improved hull design.
The Type 093 submarine is a class of nuclear-powered attack submarines constructed by the People's Republic of China for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (BSHIC), the former Bohai Shipyard, is a shipyard in China. It is a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), and is located at the Huludao Port, in southwestern Liaoning Province, China, on the northern coast of the Bohai Sea. The company was founded in 1954, and constructed vessels for the Chinese market, expanding in the 1990s to international markets after obtaining ISO 9000 certification. It was briefly part of the Liaoning Shipbuilding Group in the late 1990s before the formations of CSIC.
The Type 055 destroyer is a class of stealth guided-missile destroyers constructed for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It has a multi-mission design; the combination of sensors and weapons provides a main role of area air defence, with anti-submarine warfare capabilities surpassing previous Chinese surface combatants.
The JL-3 is a Chinese third-generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). It arms the Type 094 submarine, and is expected to arm the future Type 096.
The Type 041 is a class of attack submarines under development by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force (PLANSF).