this is second time 14+m assembly platform tender info appeared.. interesting
first time in March this year. see this down below
09V/09VI (095/096) Nuclear Submarine Thread
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first time in March this year. see this down below
It is an old tender back to March 2023.
Source:
sorry.. didn't check the date.
@ACuriousPLAFan @Tomboy so can we guess, first 096 boat construction started or start soon.
Hopefully so.
On the other hand, provided the listed dimensions of the tender document do match with the eventual real thing - With a 14-meter diameter hull, I would absolutely LOVE to have a SSGN variant that is based on the hull of the 096 SSBN.
With 16x missile tubes for the JL-4 SL-ICBMs (of hopefully 2.4-meter diameter), this could enable the dual-packing of <1.2-meter diameter strike missiles (i.e. 32x total) for anti-ship/land-attack missions at medium and/or intermediate ranges, in addition to taking advantage of the larger submarine hull diameter for longer missiles.
Needless to say, having such capability is certainly going to offer serious punches for the PLAN across the wider IndoPac... Alongside sustaining a longer production run for the 096 (family).
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Not exactly news per se, from SOYO on Weibo.
So... Does that mean the JL-4 will become the largest SL-ICBM to enter sevice in the whole world in the coming years?
(Watermark: If you don't want any watermarks (on the drawing), then draw it yourself)
So... Does that mean the JL-4 will become the largest SL-ICBM to enter sevice in the whole world in the coming years?
(Watermark: If you don't want any watermarks (on the drawing), then draw it yourself)
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Implying that the JL-3 is not yet intercontinental-ranged?
My gut feeling says it would not matter much unless it like the earlier Deltas. SSBNs go slow. Their deployments are famously "2-5 knots to nowhere". They are very well streamlined with smooth transitions but the Ohios and Vanguards do have humps.
Nope. It just implies the requirements for the JL-4 are substantially higher. I was once discussing this with @tphuang. They will go for a missile that can throw a substantial payload to most of the CONUS from the middle of SCS. It is something you either have or you don't. Such a big missile probably implies multi-MaRV/HGV applications which make sense considering the emergent ABM technologies. With a lighter payload, FOBS and very high speed depressed trajectory shots would become viable. The latter is especially valuable if they ever pivot their doctrine to counterforce strikes. And even if they never do that, forcing enemy countries to think about "what if" is beneficial on its own.
Given the size constrains of the 094/A/B SSBNs, I'd say that the JL-3 does have intercontinental-range capability, though likely facing similar payload capacity downsides as the JL-2.
If I'm not mistaken, the Guancha Trios (indirectly) hinted that the JL-3 holds the record for the world's longest-ranged submarine-launched solid-fueled missile, as due to geographical constrains, China is one of the few countries (or more like the only country) that puts the heaviest emphasis on the strike ranges of their SL-ICBMs.
With this in mind, it is expected that the JL-4 should have the same degree of intercontinental reach as the JL-3, while also having significant payload capacity upgrades over all preceding Chinese SL-ICBMs.
Lethe
Captain
At least according to Wikipedia, the R-39 SBLMs carried on the Pr. 941 Typhoon-class submarines were 16m long, 2.4m in diameter and weighed 84 tonnes. The unprecedented size of the submarine was in part a function of the size of the missiles, plus Russian design standards for reserve buoyancy and other passive survivability measures.
Russian sources give 90-96 tons within same dimensions, perhaps for later R-36U from 1988.