China shows off nuclear might ahead of top US diplomat Antony Blinken’s visit
- Chinese navy releases video showing launch of JL-2 ballistic missile from nuclear submarine in display of its second-strike capability
- The footage, shared as part of navy’s 75th anniversary celebrations, comes just days before US secretary of state travels to China
Near the end of the video, a ballistic missile is shown being launched after a narrator states that “the submarine has arrived at the scheduled launch location … and is commanded to carry out a fatal strike”.
With a range of 7,400km (4,600 miles), the JL-2 became China’s first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent when it was deployed on Type 094A nuclear submarines in 2015.
Compared with land-based missiles, SLBMs generally allow for a greater chance of surviving an initial strike by an enemy and conducting a second strike.
The footage is the first confirmation that the Shandong carrier strike group includes at least four submarines, including a nuclear one.
The video shows the three submarines conducting “cover-up” missions, with one of them launching an unmanned underwater vehicle before a fourth nuclear submarine successfully launches the missile.
According to the Pentagon report, the Chinese navy now operates six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), six nuclear-powered attack submarines, and 48 diesel-powered or or air-independent propulsion attack submarines.
China’s Jin-class Type 094 SSBNs can also deploy JL-3 SLBMs, which would allow one of the submarines armed with this missile to target parts of the continental US from Chinese waters, the report said.