CHINESE JL-2 vs UNITED STATES’S TRIDENT II: BATTLE OF SLBM

INTRODUCTION:

Only 4 countries in the world are currently recognized to have nuclear triad namely Unites States, Russia , China and India. The nuclear triad is the ability to launch nukes from land by land based missiles, from air through long range strategic bombers and from sea through submarine launched ballistic missiles.

The last leg of the ’triad’ thats the ability to launch nukes from sea, is the most survival part of the triad since submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) are least vulnerable to preemptive strike, as submarines can roam under sea without getting detected by the preying eyes of enemy satellites and reconnaissance aircrafts.

SLBMs make sure that the country will have a credible second strike capability, that is even if it is attacked first by nukes, it will have a way to retaliate back. This is reason that SLBMs are considered to be most potent form of nuclear deterrence.

The JL-2 , also known as the Ju Lang-2 or Giant Wave-2, is a Chinese intercontinental-range, submarine-launched ballistic missile. It is believed to have been developed jointly with the DF-31 land-based ICBM beginning in 1970. The missile has be designed as an improvement over JL-1 and has now completely replaced the former.
Trident II a missile designed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in California, United States. It is deployed by the American and British navies. Trident II was designed to be more advanced than Trident I which was retired in 2005 . It has greater range and payload capacity than the former.

In this video, Defense Updates compares the two SLBMs Chinese JL-2 and United States’s Trident II and draw a unbiased conclusion.

Lets get started.
PROPELLENT :

JL 2 is a 3 stage solid propellant ballistic missile.
The Trident II is also a three-stage rocket, each stage containing a solid-fuel rocket motor.

Solid-fuel missile can stand ready for extended periods of time with little maintenance and was the choice for both the countries.

This category is a tie.
LAUNCH PLATFORMS

As of 2016, China deploys 4 Jin-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines each armed with 12 JL-2 ICBMs. Chinese plans call for the production of a total of 12 Jin-class submarines.

14 Ballistic Missile Submarines of Ohio class together carry approximately 50% of the total US active inventory of strategic thermonuclear warheads, with each of the submarines carrying 24 Trident II missiles.

Distinct advantage goes to Trident II as it better accommodated in its launch platform.

ACCURACY

The JL-2 missile uses an inertial guidance system and a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system. It may also employ the Bei Dou navigational satellite system. This missile will likely have an accuracy of 150 or 300 m CEP (Circular Error Probability).
The Trident II missile uses
MK 6 astro-inertial guidance which is able to receive GPS (Global Positioning System) updates.
The missile has an accuracy of 90 m, making it only of the most accurate long range strategic missile in the world.

Advantage goes to Trident II in this category.

RANGE

The JL-2 has a minimum range of 2,000 km, a maximum range greater than 8,000 km.
The Trident II has a range of more than 7,500 mi or 12,000 km. This range enables the missile to be launched from far off from the target.

Significantly better range gives advantage to Trident II.
WARHEADS

JL-2 weighs in at 42,000 kg , where as Trident II weighs 59,000 kg.
The larger size and more advanced technology enables Trident II to carry more warheads.

JL-2 missiles are believed to be armed a single 1 MT yield nuclear warhead, but is also capable of delivering 3-8 90 kt MIRV (Multiple Independently Reentry vehicle) warheads.

Trident II can be configured with 2 types of MIRV. The Mark 5 MIRV can carry up to 14 W88 (475 kt) warheads, while the Mark 4 MIRV having the ability to carry 14 W76 (100 kt) warheads.

Trident II has more overall better payload capacity and has more MIRV warheads giving it a solid advantage.

CONCLUSION
The United States Department of Defense believes JL-2 will give the PLA Navy “its first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent.”
The missile demonstrates the increasing technological advancement of the Chinese forces.

As represented in the final score , the Trident II is overall a better missile.
The technological prowess of the Trident II can be gauged from the fact that even next generation of US & UK submarines will field them.

The Ohios class submarines are forecast to move out of service between 2027 and 2040. But the incoming Columbia class—the first vessel of which is scheduled to enter service in 2031—will continue to deploy the Trident II. And a common missile compartment, designed to house the missiles, will be a feature of both the Columbia design and the incoming British Dreadnought-class submarines, which will begin to replace the current UK Vanguard class from 2028.

Audio by Scott Leffler — scottleffler.com

Видео CHINESE JL-2 vs UNITED STATES’S TRIDENT II: BATTLE OF SLBM канала Defense Updates