Another evidence is the original sat photo of 093B. It is generally believed that the covered area is the VLS launch tube. Note its position and shape. Now that the second half of this area has been confirmed to be the VLS, the first half is likely to be the VLS as well.
Let's not talk about "professionalism" in the context of you and curiousdude over there trying to gloat and score points on an internet forum. Fitting 12 cells into a 110m hull form already used up in terms of internal space is a big ask, but 18 is an even more severe challenge and something I feel is far more easily solved by simply inserting a new section into the hull and lengthening the boat. This is what I was communicating before, NOT whether PLAN subs can or cannot have VLS tubes in general.
If you squint you can see 24 covers, in 3 rows of 8. There seems to be a grey thing which splits the covers into 2 sections. But, it also seems the same objects go further, and are more than 24, which makes me thinks they might not be covers at all.
I'm sorry for gloating about your comment on whether or not the 093B would feature a vertical launch system. I was clearly in the wrong for that. It just as when I read it before, it seemed unusual you would suggest that a VLS in a similar form factor couldn't be done at all, disregarding the 18 vs 12 cells discussion. However, now we know the 093B has at least 12 VLS cells.
That's fine. I would to point out that this boat could be a "093C" or even some other new designation. Even if it is a 093B this doesn't mean the length could not have changed to accommodate new VLS tubes, which is what I was insinuating before. It could also be a case of both lengthening the hull AND optimizing the interior; there is nothing mutually exclusive about the two design approaches.
Is the truck in the middle of the pier carrying a VLS cylinder I wonder?
