Earlier, in the propaganda film of "Hidden in the Deep Sea" with the theme of submarines publicly released by our Navy, it was very rare to show the picture of our nuclear submarine test-firing the Julang-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile. Since it was the time of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China, many friends thought that this was a solemn warning to the United States. In reality, however, from a technical point of view, it is quite possible that the United States is not afraid of the Julang-2 ballistic missile. In this issue, let's talk about this topic together.
Objectively speaking, compared with the Julang-1 missile, which has a range of only more than 2,000 kilometers and only solves the problem of "whether there is a problem" with the SLBM, the overall performance of the Julang-2 missile has indeed developed by leaps and bounds! Compared with the Julang-1, which was successfully developed in the early 80s, the Julang-2 SLBM can be said to be a real intercontinental ballistic missile. In terms of overall design, this type of missile adopts the same double-headed hood technology as the SS-N-20 ballistic missile used in the Typhoon-class strategic nuclear submarines during the Soviet era. It is possible to better balance the needs of missiles when operating under water and in the air. In terms of power, the Julang-2 missile adopts a three-stage propulsion device and a high specific impulse propellant, which effectively improves the range, and finally enables this type of missile to obtain a range of 8,000 kilometers and has the ability to cross the continent in a real sense.
It is precisely because of the great progress of the Julang-2 missile compared with the Julang-1 that the development process of this type of missile can be described as very bumpy. It was not until 2010 that the project was successfully launched on the No. 200 test submarine until the project was established in the nineties of the last century, and it was officially finalized the following year. In 2014, the Type 094 strategic nuclear submarine was equipped with the Julang-2 missile for combat readiness patrols in the western Pacific region, which means that the Julang-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile was officially put into service.
However, although the Julang-2 missile is already a very powerful missile, it still has some shortcomings, and from a realistic point of view, this type of missile actually does not directly threaten the ability of the US mainland, so the United States is actually not afraid of the threat of the Julang-2 SLBM.
Opening the map, we found that most of the sea areas around the continent are actually not suitable for the activities of nuclear submarines. Although the Bohai Sea is very safe, on the one hand, there are too many merchant and cargo ships, and on the other hand, the water depth is too shallow, and it is actually difficult for such a "big guy" as a nuclear submarine to be used. The East China Sea and the Yellow Sea are not only lacking in water depth, but are also basically under the close supervision of the maritime armed forces of the United States, Japan, South Korea, and other countries, so they are not suitable for such "national heavy weapons" as nuclear submarines. On the periphery of the mainland, only the South China Sea is an excellent area for nuclear submarine activities. The average water depth of the South China Sea is as high as about 1,100 meters, and the deepest place is even 5,500 meters, the water depth is sufficient, and the total area of the South China Sea is as high as 3.5 million square kilometers, which can provide a good space for nuclear submarines to operate and conceal space.
However, there is only one problem with the South China Sea, and that is that it is too far from the continental United States. The distance from the submarine base on Hainan Island to Miami at the eastern tip of the US mainland is more than 15,000 kilometers, which is almost twice the range of the Julang-2 missile! Even the distance from the South China Sea to the west coast of the US mainland is more than 11,000 kilometers. According to the calculation of the range of 8,000 kilometers, then the launch platform of Julang-2 must sail to at least 1,500 kilometers east of Guam in order to barely reach the target on the west coast of the United States, which means that the platform must break through the first island chain that the United States has strictly defended.
It can be seen that in order to threaten targets in the United States, it is not enough to rely on the Julang-2 missile, which is one of the reasons why the United States is not very afraid of this type of missile.
Secondly, the number and overall power of the Julang-2 missiles are also insufficient. According to relevant sources, China's six 094 strategic nuclear submarines can carry 72 Julang-2 ballistic missiles (12 in one unit), which is a huge gap compared with the nuclear submarines of the United States, Russia, and even Britain and France! The United States has 14 Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarines, each of which is capable of carrying 24 "Trident" IID5 submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles, and a total of 336 nuclear bombs, which is more than four times the total number of submarine-launched ballistic missiles of our military's nuclear submarines! The Russian Navy currently has seven Boreas-class Type 955 strategic nuclear submarines in service, each of which can carry 16 Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and a single salvo can launch a full 112 submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Even France's four Triumph-class nuclear submarines, each of which can carry 16 French-made M51 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, has a stronger firepower density than our army's nuclear submarines.
And if according to the calculations of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, about 40 million tons of nuclear weapons were needed to destroy 1/3 of the population and 1/2 of the industrial calculations of the United States, China's sea-based nuclear forces obviously cannot meet this standard.
It can be seen that although the performance of the Julang-2 ballistic missile is already good, objectively speaking, there is still a big gap between our military and the United States, Russia, and other world powers in the field of nuclear submarines, and we need to admit this. After all, it is only when we acknowledge the gap that we can make up our minds and start catching up. It is not actually advisable to blindly ignore the facts and boast about them. Fortunately, our military is now said to have begun to develop a more advanced Julang-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile, which can have a range of about 14,000 kilometers! A launch from the South China Sea is enough to cover the entire territory of the United States, and this is a magic weapon that really makes the United States "unable to sleep."
Not only that, the development of the Type 096 strategic nuclear submarine, which is specially designed to carry the Julang-3 ballistic missile, is also in full swing, and it is widely estimated that the performance of this advanced nuclear submarine is very likely to be on a par with the Ohio-class nuclear submarine of the United States! This also means that after the new nuclear submarine equipped with the Julang-3 ballistic missile is put into service, even if the United States brazenly launches a strike against land-based nuclear forces, the nuclear submarines deployed by the Chinese side in the South China Sea will still be able to carry out a nuclear counterattack.
End of this issue.