Honest question but does it even matter for Chinese nuclear attack submarines to have more vertical launch system cells when the YJ-19 hypersonic missile can be fired from torpedo tubes?
New sailless SSN (09X?) thread
- Thread starter ACuriousPLAFan
- Start date
AFAIK, YJ-19 made quite a bit of sacrifice in range and warhead size to fit into a torpedo tube. For more credible attacks against large surface combatants (Carriers or LHDs etc) or land based targets VLS cells are still IMO necessary.
The YJ-19's range is generally estimated to be no more than 1,000 kilometers, and because it uses a scramjet engine, its warhead is likely even smaller than that of a similarly sized HGV.
Furthermore, the maximum number of missiles that can be fired simultaneously from torpedo tubes is significantly lower than that of a VLS.
Thanks for the effort for the translation.
Regarding the above part quoted, that is something I recall back in the 2010s that 09V would be pushed back to pursue a more capable redesign.
At the time a lot of us expected a 10m diameter single hull SSN of some sort ala Virginia, and it was only after that rumour of a delay came in, that the idea of a Seawolf esque diameter started to gain some traction
To be fair, 885M is still a rather capable submarine in absolute terms with 32 VLS and a whopping 10 torpedo tubes with full countermeasures suite and so forth. As well as quite capable automation and a modern sonar setup. All of that in one package would be impressive by any measure.
But it's also a fair bit larger and heavier than 09V, and is in many ways a continuation of Soviet style gigantism.
I will venture to disagree on this point. While the aircraft analogy is necessarily imperfect, a similar design philosophy can be observed in how both 6th-gens are explicitly oriented towards air superiority missions—not strike ones. That is to say, aircraft optimized for A2A combat, to destroy enemy aircraft, and ultimately to win control of the air. Strike missions and platforms are clearly a secondary priority at this stage.
It seems quite plausible, poetic even, than PLAN is likewise laser-focused on using its own next-gen platforms to win control of the (under)sea. Presumably the logic is that, given the disproportionate degree to which US and co. are dependent on air/sea control to conduct and coordinate distant operations along exterior lines from otherwise isolated island bases, contesting and disrupting said control yields disproportionate benefits to the country with interior lines along a giant continental landmass and associated benefits w.r.t. force (re)generation, (re)supply, logistics, etc, in-theatre by default.
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We do know that a "09VA" is in the works, and depending on its configuration it might emphasize a greater SSGN role (as you've suggested as a variant).
If the 09X is an even more "undersea superiority" platform than baseline 09V already is, I could see them going for a dual fleet of 09X and a heavier VLS load "09VA" variant in the future (and even 09X likely would still have some VLS albeit a bit lower than 09V at baseline possibly).
Such a fleet would be a balanced mix of "undersea superiority" and "undersea superiority+land attack" in role.
What is the actual, more ridiculous notion though, is the idea that the PLAN would really be willing to commit to an active SSN production line characterized by "all ~12m pressure hull" (for 09V/"VA" and 09X, assuming 09IIIB production sunsets in near future).
That would be immensely ambitious.
