Yomiuri Shimbun disclosed that a few days ago, a PLA nuclear submarine successfully launched a JL-3 SLBM that is regarded as the strongest strategic missile and hit a target at a desert in Xinjiang.
JL-3 is China’s third-generation submarine launched ICBM with a range exceeding 10,000 km. It can carry one or several warheads and is expected to be deployed in Type 096 nuclear submarines.
JL-3 uses a Changzheng-2F carrier rocket with reduced size. The the rocket has its booster removed but has been installed in addition with warheads and solid fuel.
Its range is 5,000 km longer than JL-2 (can reach 20,000 km to hit the remotest target in the world). It carries 5 to 7 350,000-ton nuclear warheads, each of which can strike a different target.
Analysts of US Navy Times believe that if JL-3s are deployed in China’s new generation of nuclear submarine, the entire United States will be within the range of the missiles no matter where they are.
This enables China to have the capacity of multiple nuclear strikes after being hit by its enemy as long as some of its submarines have survived.
A Russian military expert believes that the launch of a JL-3 SLCM proves that China’s nuclear deterrence has been upgraded from tactic to strategic level. China has integrated the technology of new submarines and new missiles to meet the requirements of actual war.
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