About Type 096 Tang-Class Submarine:
- The Type 096 (NATO reporting name of Tang-class) submarine is China’s next-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN).
- It is bigger, stealthier, and armed with longer-range missiles than its predecessors.
- Features:
- It is said to have raft-mounted machinery, hull isolation systems, and a propulsion design that minimizes acoustic signatures during patrols.
- These features are aimed at making the sub harder to detect in contested waters.
- The vessel's pressurized water-cooled nuclear reactor powers a single shaft via a steam turbine arrangement.
- Modern power plant elements and improved vibration dampening technologies are said to enhance submerged speed and stealth performance.
- The submarine is expected to carry between 16 and 24 JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), each capable of ranges exceeding 10,000 to 12,000 kilometers and equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs).
- It can also launch wire-guided, high-speed Yu-6 torpedoes with a range of over 29 km.
