Type 094 Jin-Class Ballistic Missile Submarine

Type 094 Jin-Class Ballistic Missile Submarine

A new design (type 094) has been planned since the late 1980s. Possibly incorporating some Russian technology, the Type 094 is expected to be a dramatic improvement over the sole Xia class SSBN, with improved quieting and sensor systems, and a more reliable propulsion system. Other improvements in sonar, propulsion, training, and the application of quieting techniques will contribute to a significant improvement in the capabilities of China's submarine fleet.

Type 094 Jin-class Nomenclature

The collapse of the Han dynasty in A.D. 220 was followed by nearly four centuries of rule by warlords. The age of civil wars and disunity began with the era of the Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu, and Wu, which had overlapping reigns during the period A.D. 220-80). In later times, fiction and drama greatly romanticized the reputed chivalry of this period. Unity was restored briefly in the early years of the Jin dynasty (A.D. 265-420), but the Jin could not long contain the invasions of the nomadic peoples. In A.D. 317 the Jin court was forced to flee from Luoyang and reestablished itself at Nanjing to the south. To fend off barbarian intrusion, the fortification walls built by the various warring states were connected to make a 5,000- kilometer-long great wall. What is commonly referred to as the Great Wall is actually four great walls rebuilt or extended during the Western Han, Sui, Jin, and Ming periods, rather than a single, continuous wall. At its extremities, the Great Wall reaches from northeastern Heilongjiang Province to northwestern Gansu.

The Yangtze River, some 6300 km long in total, is the largest river in China and the third in the world(the Nile and the Amazon rank the first and second). The harnessing and utilization of the Yangtze River began in the Spring-Autumn and Warring Period. Many water conservancy projects for irrigation, flood control and transportation were built through ages of efforts. The well-known Jingjiang Great Dike is a product of ages of construction beginning from Spring-Autumn and Warring Period. Its history can be divided into four periods: commenced in Spring-Autumn and Warring Period and Jin Dynasty, completed various sections in Song Dynasty, came into being as a whole in Ming Dynasty, and heightened and reinforced in modern times. The Jiangsu-Zhejiang Sea Dikes, located at the mouth of the Yangtze, is about 400 km long. Its construction began at the mouth of Qiantangjiang River in East Han Dynasty, and the later expansion in East Jin Dynasty built the dikes to present Baoshan area. The whole dikes are finally formed in Tang and Song Dynasty.

The Yellow River is the second largest river in China. It is said that it had administrators special for water management as early as in the dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou. At that time the management of the Yellow River had become an important matter of the state. In Jin and Yuan Dynasty, the river engineering works in the lower reaches were protected together by the army and people.

Acupuncture is one discipline within the comprehensive system of Chinese medicine and healthcare. The origins of Chinese medicine are ascribed to Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor. Huang Ti, the third of five legendary Chinese emperors, is reported to have ruled between 2696 and 2598 B.C. The Huang Ti Nei Ching or Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine is the oldest known medical text and established the foundation for the theory and practice of all Chinese medicine. Over the centuries, the Nei Ching has undergone numerous revisions and clarifications. One of the most significant occurred during the Western Jin Dynasty (265-318 A.D.), with the publication of the first comprehensive text devoted exclusively to acupuncture and moxibustion1 for the treatment of disease and maintenance of health.

Type 094 Jin-class Design

The Type 094 is based on the same basic design as the Type 093 nuclear-powered attack submarine, utilising the same power plant. Each of the Type 094 SSBNs will mount 12 [not 16] JL-2 ballistic missiles (DF-31s) with a range of 8000 kms. When deployed, this missile will allow Chinese SSBNs to target portions of the United States for the first time from operating areas located near the Chinese coast. Equipped with the JL-2 missiles, the Type 094 SSBNs would only have to patrol just to the northeast of the Kuril Islands to hold about three-fourths of the United States at risk. The TYPE 094 SSBN, equipped with the 8,000+ km range, penetration aid-equipped JL-2 SLBM, will provide China with a modern and robust sea-based nuclear deterrent force.

On 15 October 2007 a photograph appeared on several Chinese Web sites, apparently taken from the water at a reasonably close range, that showed two of China's Jin-class ballistic-missile submarines alongside a pier at an unknown location in China. The picture, released the same day that China's Party Congress, held once every five years to choose the country's top leaders and set policy, opened in Beijing. The photograph confirms the assessment made by the US intelligence community, clearly showing the open hatches of 12 launch tubes, ending speculation that the Jin-class would carry 16 missiles.

Type 094 Jin-class Program

The overall size of the Chinese submarine force will decline as older boats are scrapped and new ones are built at a slower pace. There is unconfirmable speculation that as many as a dozen of these new boats may be eventually constructed, though other estimates suggest that 4-6 or 6-8 boats may be constructed.

Plans to deploy this class of nuclear powered SSBNs are said to have been delayed due to problems with the nuclear reactor power plants. In December 1999 it was reported that China had begun construction on the first Type 094 missile submarine, with preparations for the construction detected by US intelligence in November 1999. Several years would be required for submarine construction, and probably an additional year or two for shake-down trials of the submarine, and testing of the JL-2 from the submarine. At that time both the JL-2 and the first Type 094 were expected to be deployed around 2005 or 2006.

As of December 2000 construction of the first Type 094 had apparently been delayed, and the PLAN had yet to test-launch the JL-2. Priority had been given to the Type 093 nuclear-powered attack submarine. Although the keel of the first Type 093 had been laid, completion was not expected until after 2005.

On 02 December 2004 Bill Gertz reported that the new 094-class submarine had been launched in late July 2004. The new Type 094 was spotted by US intelligence at the Huludao shipyard, on the coast of Bohai Bay, some 250 miles northwest of Beijing. The submarine was in the early stages of being outfitted and was not yet equipped with new JL-2 submarine-launched nuclear missiles. The Pentagon report on Chinese military power released in May 2004 stated that the new Chinese missile submarine would not be operational until around 2010.

In March 2007 Seapower Magazine published an article based on information supplied by the US Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), and subsequentlyobtained under the Freedom of Information Act. According to ONI, while China only built a single XIA SSBN, which is equipped with a short range (1,770+ km) SLBM, a fleet of probably five TYPE 094 SSBNs will be built in order to provide more redundancy and capacity for a near-continuous at-sea SSBN presence. Construction and sea trials of the TYPE 094 program were ongoing as of late 2006, and at that time ONI assessed that a TYPE 094 could reach Initial Operating Capability (IOC) as early as 2008.

According to the US Department of Defense's Annual Report to Congress on The Military Power of the People's Republic of China for 2010, "China continues production of its newest JIN-class (Type 094) nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN). China may field up to five new SSBNs. One JIN class SSBN has entered service alongside two new SHANG-class (Type 093) nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN), four older HAN-class SSNs, and China's single XIA-class SSBN." This statement is somewhat difficult to understand without further explanation, since a pair of JIN class SSBNs was visible in commercial satellite imagery as early as 2008. And the August 2009 US Office of Naval Intelligence report "The People's Liberation Army Navy: A Modern Navy With Chinese Characteristics" reported that China had three SSBNs, that is, one XIA and two JINs.

Specifications
Displacement	10,000 tons surfaced , 12,000 tons submerged
Length	140 m
Beam	10 m
Draft	8 m
Speed	knots dive
Missiles	SLBM - 12 JL-2
Torpedoes	6 - 533 mm bow tubes Ships Name Number Builder Homeport Unit Laid Down Launch Comm Decomm ??? ??? Huludao SY Huludao 9th SUBFLT 1999 2004 2008 ??? ??? Huludao SY Huludao 9th SUBFLT ?2002 2006??? 2010??? Huludao SY Huludao 9th SUBFLT 2008??? 2012??? Huludao SY Huludao 9th SUBFLT 2010??? 2014??? Huludao SY Huludao 9th SUBFLT 2012??? 2016???