The commander of US PACOM has said China has three Type 094 (Jin-class) nuclear ballistic missile armed submarines in service and may have eight in service by 2020.
The comments are an increase on previous US estimates of an end total of five Type 094s
The US military has increased its estimate of how many nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) China is planning to operate.
In a 15 April testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Admiral Samuel Locklear, Commander of US Pacific Command (PACOM), said China has three Type 094 (Jin-class) submarines in service already and may have eight in service by the end of the decade.
“The Jin-class submarine carries the JL-2 submarine launched ballistic missile [SLBM] with a range capable of reaching the US and will give China its first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent. Nuclear deterrence patrols will likely commence this year,” he said.
Adm Locklear’s comments mark an increase over previous US intelligence community estimates. In 2007 the US Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) estimated that up to five Type 094 SSBNs could be built, while the 2008 annual Pentagon report to US Congress on China’s military stated that up to five Type 094s could be built by 2010.
Meanwhile, an ONI report issued on 9 April stated that China has four Type 094s in service.