JL-3
Submarine-launched ballistic missile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The JL-3 (Chinese: 巨浪-3; pinyin: Jù Làng Sān; lit. 'Giant Wave 3'; NATO reporting name: CSS-NX-20[2]) is a Chinese third-generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). It may arm the Type 094 submarine and is expected to arm the future Type 096.[2]
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| Julang-3 (JL-3) | |
|---|---|
Jin (type 94) class ballistic missile submarine | |
| Type | SLBM |
| Place of origin | People's Republic of China |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2022 |
| Used by | People's Liberation Army Navy |
| Specifications | |
| Blast yield | 250kt-1mt[1] |
| Propellant | Solid-fuel rocket |
Operational range | >10,000 km (6,200 mi) |
Guidance system | Astro-inertial with Beidou |
Launch platform | Type 094 submarine |
History
The first test flight occurred on 24 November 2018 in the Bohai Sea; it was likely a test of the launch tube's cold-launch ejection system.[3] According to anonymous Chinese sources, the Type 032 submarine made the first three test launches, with a Type 094 making the fourth in December 2019.[4]
In 2020, anonymous Chinese sources reported that development of the JL-3 and Type 096 had been decoupled to speed up missile development, and that it would take at least five years to integrate the missile with the submarine.[4]
By 2022, the Type 094 may have been rearmed with the JL-3.[2][5] The missile officially debuted at the 2025 China Victory Day Parade.[6]
On 6 July 2026, the People's Liberation Army Navy test-launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile, likely a JL-2 or JL-3, from a nuclear-powered submarine, into international waters in the South Pacific.[7] This was China's second ballistic missile launch into international waters since 1980, following a DF-31 test in 2024. China gave limited advance notice of the launch. The Japan Coast Guard was informed a day in advance that China had designated a hazard area, including part of Japan's EEZ south of Wakayama Prefecture, for "falling space debris." However China's Ministry of National Defense clarified the involvement of a ballistic missile only about 90 minutes before launch. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank, characterized China's launch notification protocols as weaker than the International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, to which China is not a party.[8][9][10] Observers speculated that the launch was conducted by a Type 094 submarine using either a JL-2 or JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile.[11][12]
Description
The JL-3 is reported as a solid-fueled missile with ranges of over 9,000 km (5,600 mi)[3] or 5,400 nmi (10,000 km),[13]: 56 capable of reaching parts of contiguous United States when launched from China's coastal waters.[6][14]
The Center for Strategic and International Studies reports the likely payload to be three MIRV nuclear warheads.[15]