Nuclear submarines are built one at a time, always. The US had a capability to build two submarines simultaneously, but China’s new nuclear submarine facility has risen to the top with the ability to build four submarines at the same time.
China’s new factory on the Yellow Sea will start building nuclear submarines called SSNs, by the end of this year. The facility is just another subprogram of People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) that appears to be proving its enormous strength. The construction of the factory is nearly complete, and Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industrial Corporation is putting the finishing touches on the plant. BSHIC, China’s only nuclear submarine builder, is based in Huludaom Liaoning province. The same industry has built Type 091, 093 nuclear attack submarines (SSN) and Type 092 and 094 nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN). These submarines are hidden from snoops, spies, and even satellites inside a superstructure that also provides a controlled environment for development and construction.
The assembly hall of the factory measures over 430,000 square feet, which is enough to accommodate two production lines in parallel. One-half of each line assembles and attaches the submarine modules while the other half finishes the hull adding quietening measures like anechoic tiles. Four SSN’s can be built simultaneously in this space, which once completed are moved off into the ocean. The next generation SSBN Type 096 can also be manufactured on the same assembly lines.
The manufacturing in the facility will begin with the Type 095 SSN by the end of the year. The SSN will have a single/hybrid pressure hull, vertical launch system, and pumpjet propulsion system. The features make the nuke much superior to the US’s Los Angeles III and Russia’s Akula II.