There is little we are sure about.
That said, the fact that no one is calling this 09VA, means I think we can treat that prospect as unlikely for now, unless things change.
New SSN (09X?) thread
- Thread starter ACuriousPLAFan
- Start date
There is little we are sure about.
That said, the fact that no one is calling this 09VA, means I think we can treat that prospect as unlikely for now, unless things change.
I'm kinda curious which company he's alluding to that transferred nuclear tech so China could complete 09v.
Interesting update from Ayi:
Guancha has a weekly big military article that's published on the weekend and this week it's Ayi's turn to write it. He said he was several thousand words into writing about this new sub when orders came from above telling him to drop the subject, so he's starting over on a completely different subject.
He finishes up his statement saying "this is a weapon with the potential to change human history, we must treat it with respect."
Guancha has a weekly big military article that's published on the weekend and this week it's Ayi's turn to write it. He said he was several thousand words into writing about this new sub when orders came from above telling him to drop the subject, so he's starting over on a completely different subject.
He finishes up his statement saying "this is a weapon with the potential to change human history, we must treat it with respect."
Several days ago Otter joked that it might be a huge nuclear torpedo, and assuming the yield ratio is 3kt TNT per kg, this torpedo's yield would be 27 BILLION TON TNT. It's more than enough to change human history.
Technically the original Chinese text was "(the new sub) effectively gains around 15% propulsive power at high speeds", Im no expert om subs so can't really make conclusions here
Maybe not something that extreme, but another possibility is SSN(S) being China's own Poseidon carrier? Considering how hush-hush everything is about it, no one really knew (or said anything) about it, chinese denizens can't talk about it etc.
In that case, the question then becomes how China would be able to conduct massed and sustained standoff strikes against land and sea targets far beyond the reaches of the PLAAF H-6K/J and PLARF MRBMs into the CentPac and EastPac, let alone the West Coast and East Coast of CONUS, in order to degrade the US's war-making and war-waging capabilities, without having a substantial fleet of SSNs that are able to provide massed standoff hypersonic and/or ballistic firepower to the target?
Yes, we do know that there's the DF-27 - But the purported maximum strike range of ~8000 kilometers would only enable the coverage of Hawaii and the northwestern CONUS (e.g., Kitsap), leaving the rest of CONUS untouched. Developing intercontinental-range conventional strike missiles (somewhat similar in a sense to the Global Prompt Strike idea) would mean a lower cost-vs-benefit ratio, alongside an understandably lower number of missiles that can be procured and deployed.
As long as China doesn't have any footholds up to the 2IC (at least), I certainly don't see how PLAN CVs, CGs and DDGs would be freely sailing within the vicinity of Hawaii, Kitsap, San Diego, or even Norfolk and Newport News to launch strikes against the naval bases and shipyards there, in addition to Palmdale (B-21 production site) and Fort Worth (one of the three F-35 production sites), among other industrial and military sites dotting all across CONUS for the foreseeable future. This is in contrast to how China's eastern seaboard is well within range of the 1IC and 2IC (and that there were never any guarantees of 100% defendability against enemy strikes coming from these island chains and beyond).
Aren't these two essentially contrasting/conflicting POVs? If not mistaken, aren't we kinda expecting both the 095 and 09X to have ~12 meters of hull diameter at this point?
Westinghouse AP1000 reactor, foundation of China's 3+ gen reactor technology
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By taking footholds, obviously. History already shows us how you fight a major war across the Pacific. Time has not changed the laws of physics, nor has it changed the fundamental need to control territory by putting boots on the ground. The fact that ground is so scarce in the vast Pacific only makes each scrap of it more precious. So if you want to send ships into the vicinity of Hawaii, Kitsap, San Diego, or even Norfolk and Newport News, then you need to island-hop your way over there.
Relying on fires alone to achieve decisive outcomes, be they standoff or stand-in, delivered by bombers or ballistic missiles or submarines, is exactly how you end up in the mess the US is stuck in now with Iran.