How Many Submarines Does China Have? 2026 Count

China has 12 nuclear-powered submarines in the official U.S. count, and open-source analysts estimate a few more have entered service since that count was made.

The Pentagon’s December 2024 report on China’s military, quoted by the Congressional Research Service, lists six Jin-class (Type 094) ballistic-missile submarines and six attack submarines: two Shang I (Type 093) and four Shang II (Type 093A). The IISS’s Military Balance 2025 gave the same figure of 12 for early 2025. Each Jin can carry up to 12 nuclear-armed JL-2 or JL-3 missiles. The Pentagon puts the JL-3’s range at about 5,400 nautical miles, roughly 10,000 kilometers.

The newest nuclear class is the Shang III (Type 093B), a guided-missile attack submarine built to carry anti-ship and possibly land-attack cruise missiles. The Pentagon counted four launched between May 2022 and January 2023. In a January 2026 review of the Chinese navy, Naval News estimated that about seven had been built by late 2025, with two or three commissioned. China also keeps three old Han-class (Type 091) boats, which are used only for moored training.

About 48, in the Pentagon’s count. Most of China’s submarine force is still conventionally powered, and these boats are built to fight close to China’s coast.

The Pentagon counts 48 diesel-electric and air-independent-propulsion attack submarines. They fall into three main groups. The Song class (Type 039) has 13 boats. The Yuan class (Type 039A/B) has 21, and its air-independent propulsion lets it stay submerged far longer than older diesel boats. China also operates 10 Russian-built Kilo-class boats, from the 12 it bought between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s; it retired the two oldest in late 2021. A small number of newer Type 039C boats, with a redesigned sail, are also in service. China does not publish how many.

Quiet diesel boats are hard to find in shallow coastal water. In a war over Taiwan, they could lie in wait in the Taiwan Strait and the approaches to the South China Sea. Japan is building a modern diesel fleet of its own; its Taigei-class submarines use lithium-ion batteries.

Faster than the United States in nuclear launches, though from a much smaller base.

The IISS study, titled “Boomtime at Bohai,” counted 10 Chinese nuclear-powered submarines launched in 2021-2025, displacing about 79,000 tonnes. The United States launched seven, about 55,000 tonnes. In 2016-2020, China added only three. The authors, Henry Boyd and Tom Waldyn, say this includes a seventh and eighth Jin-class ballistic-missile submarine, launched in 2024 and 2025. A launched hull is not yet a working warship: fitting out and sea trials take another year or more.

Behind the numbers is the Huludao yard, which China has expanded with a second large construction hall. Conventional boats come mainly from Wuchang Shipbuilding in Wuhan, which in 2025 also launched three Hangor-class submarines for Pakistan.

Three new designs stand out: the Type 095 attack submarine, the Type 096 ballistic-missile submarine and a mysterious boat known in the West as the Zhou class (Type 041).

The first boat assessed as a Type 095 appeared in a Huludao dock in satellite imagery taken on February 9, 2026, Janes reported. It is about 110 meters long, has an X-shaped stern and probably a pump-jet propulsor, both features of quieter Western designs. A second, roughly 120-meter boat with what may be vertical launch tubes was photographed at Huludao in September, The War Zone reported. “Type 095” is a Western label, not an official Chinese name.

The Type 096 will replace the Jin as China’s sea-based nuclear deterrent and is expected to carry a longer-range missile. The U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence expects the Type 095 and Type 096 to enter service between the late 2020s and the 2030s. The Pentagon expects China to operate the Jin and Type 096 fleets side by side through the 2030s. France is upgrading its submarine-launched deterrent in the same way: its M51.3 missile was test-fired from the submarine Le Vigilant on October 6, 2026.

The Zhou class had a bad start. The first boat sank beside a pier at Wuchang in May or June 2024, U.S. officials said, as The Maritime Executive reported. The Pentagon’s 2025 report gave the incident a single sentence and linked it to corruption in the wider PLA.

China has more submarines in total, but the U.S. Navy has far more nuclear ones.

The IISS counted 65 U.S. submarines in early 2025, all nuclear-powered: 14 ballistic-missile boats and 51 attack and guided-missile boats. China had 12 nuclear boats plus about 46 conventional ones, by the IISS count. Nuclear power lets a submarine cross the Pacific at speed and stay submerged for months. Diesel boats are slower and must surface or snorkel to recharge, unless they have air-independent propulsion. U.S. boats are also judged quieter: the IISS authors say Chinese designs almost certainly still trail American and European submarines in quality.

About 65 now and 80 by 2035, if the Pentagon’s forecast holds. Its December 2024 report said the force should reach 65 boats in 2025 and 80 in 2035, despite retiring old hulls, because China has expanded its submarine yards.

The Office of Naval Intelligence made a slightly lower forecast in 2020: 76 submarines by 2030, made up of eight ballistic-missile boats, 13 nuclear attack boats and 55 conventional ones. Both forecasts expect the same change: diesel numbers stay roughly flat while the nuclear share grows. Beijing has never published a submarine target.

The Pentagon’s December 2024 report counted 60 Chinese submarines: six ballistic-missile, six nuclear attack and 48 diesel-electric boats. The IISS counted 12 Chinese nuclear-powered submarines in early 2025, against 65 for the United States. China launched 10 nuclear-powered submarines in 2021-2025 and the U.S. launched seven, the IISS found in February 2026. Each Jin-class submarine carries up to 12 JL-2 or JL-3 missiles; the JL-3 reaches about 10,000 kilometers. The first Type 095 attack submarine was seen fitting out at Huludao in February 2026. The Pentagon forecasts 80 Chinese submarines by 2035.