China commissions new strategic nuclear-powered submarine

A Type 094 Jin-class SSBN of the PLAN. Photo c/o Wikipedia.

Chinese media outlets claimed that China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has recently commissioned a new “strategic nuclear-powered submarine”.

In their report on 22 April 2020, Chinese state-owned media Global Times did not mention the exact model of the submarine, but considering it as a strategic asset means it could be a new nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), which is capable of carrying numerous ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.

British defense media outlet IHS Jane’s believes that it is not the next-generation Type 096 since the interval between the launching and the recent commissioning ceremonies of this new submarine is too short. 

It is possible that the submarine could be an updated version of the older Type 094A Jin-class SSBN.

China has been vocal on their intention to bring in new weapon systems as the PLAN continues to modernize and increase in size. 

[1] Jane’s Defence Weekly