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| PLAN Type 94 Jin class Submarine |
China's Global Times says the United States has studied various ways to counter the nuclear threat of China's Type 94 Jin-class submarine. The report comes after a satellite image indicated three of the ballistic missile sumbarines had been deployed to Yalong Bay in Hainan province.
The Type 094 has a displacement of 8,000 tons surfaced and 11,000 tons submerged. With a top speed of over 20 knots, the submarine is powered by a nuclear reactor can remain submerged for 90 days. Designed as a ballistic missile submarine, a Type 094 can carry between 12 and 16 JL-2 second-generation intercontinental submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Though the Type 094 is noisy compared to its US counterparts, its other specs are on a par with other advanced ballistic missile submarines around the globe. The Tokyo-based Ships of the World magazine said that with a range of 8,000 kilometers the JL-2 missile is capable opf striking the continental United States even when fired from waters close to the China coast.
The US Office of Naval Intelligence predicted China will be capable of operating 75 ballistic missile submarines by 2020.
Read the full story at Want China Times