More info has emerged regarding to China's new generation nuclear submarine (Type-09X).📜
It's now unlikely to be a nuclear cruise missile submarine or arsenal ship(sub). It's a full-on next gen nuclear attack submarine. Much like the relationship between J-35 (Type-095) and J-36 (Type-09X). J-35 being a 5th gen fighter is being mass produced parallel to the 6th gen J-36 is being test flown.
The extremely small sail (conning tower) means the 09X can reach extremely high speeds silently. So it's a fast moving submarine hunter. It will eat American subs for lunch.
The most important value for a nuclear attack submarine is not how silent it is alone, or how fast it can go underwater. It's how fast it can go underwater while remaining quiet. Hence the streamlined hydrodynamics of the 09X, where the small sail only act as a stabilizer.
So why this new gen of nuclear attack submarine will tip the scale?
Anti-submarine aircraft remains to be the most effective submarine hunter. But if the 2 sides are peer competitors at sea, and no one can guarantee air superiority, then submarines that hunt enemy subs becomes the pivotal ASW platform.
Other speculated capabilities of the 09X may include:
🔹 Acting as the underwater mothership to unmanned subs.
🔹Besides main torpedo tubes it may have smaller torpedo tubes that can launch anti-torpedo torpedoes, like missile defense system but for torpedoes. Such system has already been seen on the aircraft carrier Fujian.
All that being said, China still needs a dedicated nuclear cruise missile submarine (arsenal sub), capable of launching hundreds of cruise missiles at targets in the continental US.
Going back to the Type-09X, the American subs will be prey from the Pacific to the Indian ocean, maybe in the near future, the Atlantic. Periscope photo of the New York skyline when?