China’s military has carried out its first confirmed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test in international waters in over four decades, state media reported on Monday.

According to an official statement, a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) submarine fired a strategic missile equipped with an inert practice warhead from the South Pacific. The projectile struck its predetermined target with high accuracy, the report said.

The test marks a significant development in China’s naval nuclear capabilities. While Beijing has conducted previous SLBM trials, mostly in internal waters such as the Bohai Sea, publicly announcing a launch in the open Pacific is highly unusual and echoes China’s rare 2024 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test into the same region — its first such open-ocean ICBM launch since 1980.

The launch is believed to involve either the JL-2 or the more advanced JL-3 SLBM. The JL-3, a third-generation missile with an estimated range exceeding 9,000–10,000 km, is capable of reaching targets on the continental United States from waters near China. It is currently being deployed on Jin-class (Type 094) nuclear ballistic missile submarines and is expected to arm the next-generation Type 096 SSBNs.

Military analysts view the test as part of China’s broader nuclear modernization drive. The People’s Liberation Army Navy currently operates six Jin-class SSBNs and is rapidly expanding its submarine fleet. U.S. intelligence estimates suggest China could field 20–30 nuclear-powered ballistic and guided-missile submarines by 2040 as part of its effort to enhance its sea-based nuclear deterrent.

China has not provided additional technical details about the missile type or the specific submarine involved. The timing and public nature of the announcement are seen by some observers as a deliberate show of strategic capability. (ILKHA)