China completes nuclear vessels, MND report says

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A Hong Kong media outlet recently reported that China has confirmed it has completed the construction of the newest Type 094 Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, according to a report posted on the Ministry of Defense Web site yesterday.
A nuclear expert at the Federation of American Scientists, Hans Kristensen, revealed on July 5 that the Type 094 SSBN had been spotted for the first time by a commercial satellite. The image is accessible by searching the Web.
The exposure of the submarine's satellite image has attracted much attention, and the completion of the construction of the submarine has been reportedly confirmed by a Communist Chinese central agency publication.
The MND Web site report quoted Ming Pao in Hong Kong as saying that after the satellite photo of the newest SSBN was exposed, a Chinese government propaganda document confirmed that China had completed several self-developed innovations in the sector of national defense technology, including the Type 094 SSBN, the Kong Jing-2000 airborne warning and control system, and the J10 Fighter Jet. This marked the first time the Chinese government was making a public announcement regarding newly design submarines.
The Type 094 submarine appeared to be based on Russia's Victor-3 model, and although photographs are unclear, the vessel resembles China's early-1980s Xia-class submarines, Kristensen said.
The 133-meter submarine will probably be able to carry Julang-2 sea-launched ballistic missiles in its estimated 12 launch tubes, he said.
The Jin-class appears to be approximately 10 meters longer than the Xia-class SSBN, primarily due to an extended mid-section of approximately 35 meters that houses the missile launch tubes and part of the reactor compartment.
The U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence disclosed in December that China might build five Jin-class submarines, Kristensen noted.
The ONI estimated that the Jin-class, like the Xia-class, will have 12 missile launch tubes, and the missiles will have a maximum range of 8,000 kilometers. Other non-governmental sources have frequently claimed that the submarines will have 16 tubes.