I really don't understand this author Kristin Huang why JL3 launched from the Yellow sea is not feasible. The distance of yellow sea to say Washington is roughly 10000 km And will be protected by the air asset nobody is going to lay a finger on the the launching platform. NO surface ship is going to dare sail so close to the coast
The only problem is the launching platform of Type 96 is not ready yet The missile has been tested 3 times probably requiring 2 or 3 mores testing. China need to built type 96 ASAP bar none
The JL-3: the new missile ‘raising the cost’ of a US fight with China
- The submarine-launched weapon has a much greater range than previous versions and could put the PLA within striking distance of the continental USA, a report says
- The missiles are an essential element in the Chinese military’s ability to respond to an attack, analyst says
Topic |
Published: 10:00pm, 24 Jan, 2021
The JL-3 has a range of up to 10,000km. Photo: Handout
It has already been
but so far China is saying nothing. The JL-3, the country’s most advanced submarine-launched long-range missile, is projected to be fully integrated with the PLA’s
in 2025, but China has not officially confirmed that it is even under development.
Nevertheless, it is still a threat and one of a number of missiles that could put the People’s Liberation Army within striking distance of the continental United States, according to an American military report.
Observers say that threat will give China a credible nuclear deterrence effect and second strike power against rivals.
When the JL-3 is up and running on Chinese submarines, it should be able to deliver multiple warheads – including nuclear – and have a range of more than 10,000km (6,200 miles).
That is the conclusion of the US Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Centre (Nasic) in its Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat report, released this month.
In the report, the centre said China was developing and testing offensive missiles, as well as upgrading others.
“In late November 2018, China tested a new JL-3 [submarine-launched ballistic missile] in the Bohai Sea ... The JL-3 has a greater range than the JL-2,” the report said, referring to the missile’s earlier version.
The report said the number of warheads on Chinese missiles capable of threatening the United States was expected to grow in the next five years to well over 100, up from the 16 of its most powerful land-based equivalent, the DF-41, that China has now.
The conclusion is largely supported by the Federation of American Scientists, which came out with its own report on January 19 saying the JL-3 was a major advance on the JL-2 missile still in service.
“The biggest news in the China section of the Nasic report is that the new JL-3 ... will be capable of delivering multiple warheads and have a range of more than 10,000km. That is a significant increase in capability compared with the JL-2,” the FAS report said. The JL-2 has a range of about 7,200km.
Despite this increased range, even the best Chinese submarine would not be able to hit the US mainland with a JL-3 from the South China Sea, the federation said. To do that, the vessel would have to launch the missile from the Bohai Sea, an area closer to South Korea and Japan, giving Chinese submarines less chance of going undetected.
