China conducts flight test of nuclear-capable missile in the Pacific

China conducted a flight test of its nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday.

During the historic test, the first to be made public in nearly four decades, a nuclear-powered strategic submarine of the People's Liberation Army Navy launched a nuclear-capable ICBM, which carried a dummy warhead, at 12:01 pm from an unidentified sea area.

The warhead "precisely hit the designated target waters in the Pacific Ocean", Senior Captain Wang Xuemeng, the Navy's spokesman, said in a brief statement.

This missile test was a "routine arrangement as part of China's annual military training", he noted, adding that China has provided prior notification to relevant countries.

"The test complied with international law and established international practices, and was not targeted at any specific country or target," the spokesman said.

The Navy has yet to give more details about the test, such as the types of submarine and missile involved in the operation, the locations where the missile was launched and splashed down, and the distance flown by the missile.

The last time China made public the flight test of a submarine-based ICBM was in September 1988, when a Type 09II, China's first class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, launched two JL-1 nuclear-capable missiles from the Bohai Sea.

The JL-1 was constrained by its short operational range, so it could only act more or less as a symbol of the PLA Navy's possession of nuclear capability rather than a usable deterrent. It retired from active service many years ago.

Currently, the PLA Navy deploys two types of submarine-launched ICBMs — the JL-2, which was declassified in an October 2019 parade, and the JL-3, which was unveiled during a parade last September.

The JL-2 and JL-3, according to observers, feature intercontinental hit ranges, a capacity for multiple warheads, and strong penetration capability, promising the Navy reliable assets to deliver a nuclear counterstrike.

The PLA Navy now has an unknown number of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines in the Type 09IV series.

Nuclear missiles launched from submarines deep under the sea surface are very difficult to detect and track, and can be used on short notice, so they are tasked with realizing sea-based nuclear deterrence and counterstrike.