Are SSGNs expected to play a signficant part in the PLAN's underwater fleet of the future?
The Block 5 Virginias are extended in length in order to fit the 4 VPMs, which are meant to increase the missile payload per boat and succeed the aging Ohio-converted SSGNs.
So clearly the USN sees the importance of the SSGNs for its underwater fleet.
The majority of the USN SSN fleet will be non Block V Virginias, we do do not know if the future SSN(X) will emphasize such a large VLS capacity either.
Furthermore, part of the impetus for the Block V Virginia is because of the retirement of the Ohio SSGNs.
As I wrote in my previous reply to you, they could always develop a longer stretched version of 09V with more VLS if needed. However 18-24 VLS for YJ-21 sized weapons for the "standard SSN" baseline version would be very very reasonable, which both myself and Tirdent have written.
There is more to procurement than "keeping up with the Jones's".
Modern SSNs are replacing bow sonars with flank arrays or bow sonars are retained?
Flank sonars are not a replacement for bow sonars, they are a complement.
Which is to say, bow sonars are of course still present.