Type 092 submarine


The 6,500-ton Type 092 (US Dep't of Defense designation Xia-class) submarine was the first ballistic missile-carrying, nuclear-powered submarine class (SSBN) deployed by the People's Liberation Army Navy. The first Changzheng 6 (# 406) of its class was launched in 1981. As of 2004, only one of the class has been commissioned with 12 JL-1 SLBMs (a 2,100-km range JL-1 was successfully launched in 1988; since 2001, it reportedly has been replaced by the 3,000 to 4,000-km range JL-1A). The boat also has six 533-mm bow torpedo tubes and carries 12 torpedoes.