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Google Maps Shows Chinese Nuclear Sub Prototype

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the pants-meet-ankles dept.

mytrip writes "An image of what could be one of China's new nuclear ballistic missile submarines is available on the Google Maps and Google Earth satellite-image site, a defense blogger claimed Tuesday. The satellite picture was discovered by Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project for the Federation of American Scientists, and announced Tuesday on his blog. Kristensen believes the picture, taken by the Quickbird satellite late last year, reveals China's new Jin-class, or Type 094, nuclear ballistic missile sub. The new sub class is approximately 35 feet longer than its predecessor, the Xia-class, also known as Type 092, according to two images Kristensen compares on the blog. The Jin-class sub has an extended midsection that houses 12 missile tubes and part of the reactor compartment, Kristensen explains."

4 of 339 comments (clear)

  1. Karma whoring by l-ascorbic · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...but the article doesn't seem to have an actual link to the map. It's here.

  2. The real question is... by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    how quiet will this boat be submerged? SSBN's are the chickens of the sea - they run away from the slightest noise in order to stay undetected; the attack boats like to trail them in order to kill them if needed. Unless these new ones are extra quiet they'll be less a strategic threat than a symbol of power. They could, for example, be used to try to forestall a US response to move against the Republic of China, depending how credible the US viewed such a threat. For China, it means they've added a new threat to many of their neighbors - it could get a bit busy with Russian, Taiwanese, and Japanese subs and ASW forces looking to track them.

    That said, I'd love to be on the first boat to track one...

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  3. Re:How much do you want to bet... by TheDugong · · Score: 4, Informative

    However, I suspect it was the fact that one of the subs actually sank a ship (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_General_Belgrano ) that really drove the point home.

  4. Wrong again by DJCacophony · · Score: 4, Informative

    The speed of sound in air is ~760mph.
    The speed of sound in water is ~3,355mph.

    What was that you were saying? Something about blathering about things you don't know about?

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