Type 093 Shang

China's second-generation nuclear attack submarine (SSN/SSGN), spanning the baseline Type 093, improved Type 093A, and the VLS-equipped Type 093B, and the backbone of the People's Liberation Army Navy's undersea fleet.

Overview

The Type 093 Shang class is the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) only operational nuclear-powered attack submarine. Built by Bohai Shipyard at Huludao, the series entered service in 2006 and has evolved through three principal variants. The latest iteration, the Type 093B, is classified by the United States as a cruise-missile submarine (SSGN) because of its vertical-launch system, giving the PLAN a massed land-attack and anti-ship strike capability from a stealthy submerged platform. Alongside the noisy Type 094 ballistic-missile boat, the Shang family is the keel of China’s nuclear submarine fleet, though open-source assessments consistently place it a half-generation or more behind contemporary Western and Russian SSNs in acoustic signature.

Development

Design work on China’s second-generation nuclear attack boat began in the late 1980s, and the lead Type 093 was laid down in 1994. The boat was commissioned in 2006, marking a protracted 12-year build cycle, according to Wikipedia. Early hulls (Shang I) lacked a towed sonar array and were followed by the lengthened Type 093A (Shang II) with improved acoustics and a stern towed array. The definitive variant is the Type 093B (Shang III), which introduces a vertical-launch system and a pump-jet propulsor. The U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) stated in March 2026 that 6–8 Type 093Bs were already in service, with serial production expected to continue into the early 2030s, as reported by USNI News. Construction throughput at Huludao, observed via satellite imagery, suggests China is now building nuclear submarines at a faster rate than any Western yard, a shift highlighted by Army Recognition.

Design & capabilities

All Shang variants share a double-hull design, six 533-mm torpedo tubes, and a nuclear-powered steam-turbine plant. The reactor is reported to be a pair of pressurized-water units with a combined thermal output around 150–175 MW, delivering about 25 MW to a single shaft, as estimated by the World Nuclear Association. The baseline and Type 093A use a conventional skewed propeller; the Type 093B switches to a pump-jet for reduced cavitation noise.

Armament: the torpedo tubes fire Yu-3, Yu-4 and Yu-6 heavyweight torpedoes, together with tube-launched YJ-82 and YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles. The Type 093B adds a vertical-launch system (VLS) for cruise missiles. ONI publicly cites 24 cells, while 2025 satellite-imagery analyses read only about 12 visible hatches — the discrepancy remains unresolved, as noted by USNI News. The VLS is designed for the YJ-18 family and may accommodate a submarine-launched YJ-21 hypersonic weapon.

Sensors: a Type-359 radar is supplemented by a bow hull-mounted sonar, flank arrays, and, from the 093A onward, a stern towed-array sonar.

Quieting: Western analyst assessments — notably by Carlson & Wang (CMSI, 2023) — rank the original Type 093 at roughly the acoustic level of a Soviet Victor I (late-1960s), the 093A at Victor II/III, and the 093B possibly approaching Sierra I (1983), as cited by Wikipedia. All variants are still judged significantly noisier than the U.S. Virginia-class or Russian Yasen-M.

Variants

• Type 093 (Shang I): baseline attack submarine, six torpedo tubes, no towed array, estimated 2 commissioned.
• Type 093A (Shang II): lengthened hull, towed-array sonar, improved acoustic rafting, roughly 4 boats.
• Type 093B (Shang III): pump-jet propulsor, VLS for cruise missiles, angled sail; ONI assesses 6–8 in service as of 2026.

Combat record / operational use

The Shang class has never fired a weapon in anger. However, it conducts routine patrols in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, establishing a persistent presence that the U.S. Department of Defense tracks closely, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Occasional churn in open-source intelligence — notably an unsubstantiated August 2023 report of a Type 093 loss near the Taiwan Strait — was quickly denied by both Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense and Beijing. As of mid-2026, all known Shang boats remain in active service with no verified combat losses.

Advantages

• Naval strike reach: the 093B’s VLS allows a submerged cruise-missile salvo, extending China’s anti-access/area-denial umbrella.
• Serial production pace: China is producing SSNs faster than any other nation, steadily narrowing fleet numbers.
• First-generation land-attack capability from a PLAN nuclear boat, something previously limited to nuclear-powered surface escorts.
• Pump-jet on the 093B lowers low-speed broadband noise, making the boat harder to detect when loitering.

Drawbacks / limitations

• Acoustic signature: open-source consensus ranks the 093 family a generation behind U.S. and Russian front-line SSNs; even the 093B is assessed at 1980s-vintage Soviet quieting.
• Relatively small torpedo-room and limited reloads compared to Western boats.
• VLS cell count is uncertain; the lower “~12” estimate, if correct, limits salvo mass.
• Reliance on a proven but older reactor technology; no evidence of a life-of-the-ship core or advanced natural-circulation capability.
• No access to open-ocean resupply or forward basing, constraining sustained distant patrols.

Counterparts

• Virginia-class (USA)
• Yasen-class (Russia)

Outlook

The Type 093B is now in serial production and is the immediate bridge to the next-generation Type 095 SSN. With at least 6–8 boats already afloat, the 093B gives the PLAN its first submerged cruise-missile salvo capability, and the class will remain the backbone of the nuclear attack fleet into the 2030s. Acoustic parity with the leading Western and Russian designs will have to wait for the Type 095; until then, the Shang boats trade quieting for numbers and strike potential.

Key specifications

Sources

1. Wikipedia — Type 093 submarine — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_093_submarine
2. USNI News — Chinese Navy Expanding Nuclear Attack Boat Fleet and Missile Strike Capabilities (ONI brief) — https://news.usni.org/2026/03/05/chinese-navy-expanding-nuclear-attack-boat-fleet-and-missile-strike-capabilities-oni-commander-says
3. Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) — China Submarine Capabilities (November 2025) — https://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/china-submarine-capabilities/
4. Army Recognition — China to expand its nuclear submarine fleet as the production of Type 093B increases — https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/navy-news/2025/china-to-expand-its-nuclear-submarine-fleet-as-the-production-of-type-093b-increases
5. World Nuclear Association — Nuclear-Powered Ships (Type 093 reactor estimate) — https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-applications/transport/nuclear-powered-ships