The Type 094 (; Chinese designation: 09- IV;

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform man ...

: Jin class) is a class of

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN � ...

developed by

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

for the

People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force The People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force (PLANSF) is the submarine service of the People's Liberation Army Navy. It consists of all types of submarines in operational service organized into three fleets: the North Sea Fleet, the East Se ...

. The Type 094 succeeds the Type 092 submarine and precedes the

Type 096 submarine The Type 096 is a projected class of ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) for China's People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force. The submarine is expected to begin construction in the early 2020s and be armed with the JL-3 SLBM A submarine ...

, which is under development.

Background

The Type 094 was first spotted in 2006 on commercial satellite imagery of the Xiaopingdao Submarine Base. It was noted as being longer than the Type 092. Two Type 094s were spotted at the

Bohai Shipyard Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (BSHIC), the former Bohai Shipyard, is a shipyard in China. It is a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), and is located at the Huludao Port, in southwestern Liaoning Province, C ...

in May 2007, although it was not clear if these included the one spotted in 2006. One was operational in 2010, three in 2013, four in 2015, and possibly six in 2020. The

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

is interested in augmenting its

ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons ...

forces with SSBNs to enhance its comprehensive nuclear deterrent force. Nuclear deterrent patrols commenced in December 2015.

Description

The Type 094's design is likely based on the Type 093 nuclear attack submarine. It was initially armed with 12

JL-2 The JL-2 (, NATO reporting name CSS-N-14) is a Chinese second-generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) deployed on the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) Type 094 submarines. It succeeds the JL-1 SLBM ...

SLBM A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhea ...

s, each with an estimated range of and carrying one warhead. Launches from near China may reach parts of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

. The Type 094 and JL-2 is China's first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent. Thomas-Noone and Medcalf note that the Type 094's noisiness would make it difficult for it to reach and maintain patrol areas where it could strike at the contiguous United States; no such limitations would exist against Indian targets. The Type 094 is noisier than contemporary submarines. In 2004, a Chinese researcher reported that the Type 094 had an acoustic signature of 120

decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a ...

s, comparable to the . In 2009, the

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serve ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

listed the Type 094 as being noisier than Project 667BDR (NATO reporting name: Delta III) from the late-1970s. By late 2022 the submarines were armed with the JL-3 SLBM. The JL-3 can reach the

continental United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

from the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Ph ...

; ranges of over have been reported.

Type 094A

The Type 094A is a variant with a modified and improved

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails ma ...

. The sail appears to incorporate features from one installed on a modified Type 093.

Boats

Gallery

File:Type 094 SSBN.JPG

References

Notes

Sources

* {{SSBN classes in service, state=collapsed Submarine classes Ballistic missile submarines Submarines of China Nuclear-powered submarines Nuclear submarines of the Chinese Navy