CHINA is preparing to unleash its nuclear submarines which hide 12 nuclear missiles in their distinctive "humpback".
Beijing has reportedly been pushing through upgrades for the Type 094 "Jin" class boats amid the threat of a potential military clash with the US.
Fears of war are rising as China makes increasingly bold pushes towards the separatist island of Taiwan, with President Xi Jingping pledging "reunification".
US military chiefs have always promised to defend the island enclave, but a potential military confrontation with China is feared to risk spiraling into a theoretical World War 3.
China appear to making the ready for the threat of such a large scale conflict - with focus being placed on its nuclear missile-carrying submarines that prowl the Pacific.
With 12 nuclear missiles aboard each of the "Jins", just one of the vessels has enough firepower to kill millions and wipe out cities.
The submarines are reportedly capable of carrying China's JL-3 "Big Wave" missiles which have a range of 7,500 miles, more than enough to reach the continental US.
And each submarine is believed to already have unlimited range thanks to its nuclear powered propulsion, meaning they can in theory reach the shores of the both US coasts.
Most read in The Sun
Live Blog
FURY WILDER 3 Fury wins with brutal stoppage after BOTH men dropped in heavyweight thriller
TYSON GLORY Fury beats Wilder with brutal KO after picking himself up from canvas TWICE
HAIR-GATE Wilder complains about Fury gloves AGAIN and forces inspectors to cut them open
DING DONG Mum freaked out by bell ringing at night stunned to find out ID of mystery creep
LITTLE QUICK Little Mix's Perrie Edwards reveals baby Axel was born THREE WEEKS early
PARIS FURY Our girl left school at 11 - Tyson wanted her to stay but it's the traveller way
China is believed to have upgraded the boats to make their more stealthy, according to a report French submarine encyclopedia author Eric Genevelle and former US submarine sonar tech Richard W. Stirn.
The raft of developments are said to address issues which the large submarines had, such as being very noisy, to hep them stay undetected.
The Type 094A and Type 094B variants have reportedly both received upgraded hull designs and modified sonar arrays.
And the vessels have also been given ways to hid their identification markers in an effort to conceal how many of the "Jins" may be deployed at sea by China.
Beijing is currently believed to have six of the vessels in operation - but the actual numbers are a state secret.
Using a fake hull number would help confuse spy observers when a submarine emerges from the water
Lu Li-Shih
Western nations such as the US and UK tend to declare the number of ballistic missile submarines are sea - a practice not adopted by China.
The report notes that China has started concealing their submarines ID numbers, such as editing state-released photographs and painting at least four subs with the number "409".
And this appears to be a new policy for China as the got to greater lengths to conceal its submarine power.
However, the reports authors note the vessels are still likely too noisy approach US shores undetected.
But the range of their missile arsenal means they likely do not have to even leave the waters around China before launching a devastating assault.
1
It is unknown exactly how many Jin submarines China has in service Credit: Getty
Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology institute in Beijing, however insisted the new upgrades are standard procedure and not related to developing tensions with the US.
"Building to commissioning a submarine can take up to eight years, while electronic and many sophisticated components would have advanced by several generations within this period," he told the South China Morning Post.
"The Chinese navy would request shipbuilders to install the most advanced facilities into the next hull, while sub engineers need to think about how to put those components in the right places. All this may require changes to hull design involving dimension, sail, rudder, number of limber holes and other factors."
Lu Li-Shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Naval Academy in Kaohsiung, said using a fake hull number was an effort to sow confusion - but would be useless in battle.
"Using a fake hull number would help confuse spy observers when a submarine emerges from the water, but the number would become meaningless in naval battles, as the hull would disappear when the subs dived into deep water," Lu said.
Tensions remain at boiling point between China and Taiwan as its feared the Communist giant may attempt to reclaim the island which it claims as its own.
Chinese warplanes have been flying in record numbers into Taiwanese airspace as part of huge drills widely seen as a rehearsal for invasion.
Taiwan insists it is a independent nation after splitting from mainland China in 1949.
China's president Xi has vowed to ensure "reunification" with Taiwan - but omitted mentioning a use of force.
Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Saturday, Xi said the China had a “glorious tradition” of defeating anyone it perceives as "separatists".
He said: "Taiwan’s independence separatism is the biggest obstacle to achieving the reunification of the motherland, and the most serious hidden danger to national rejuvenation."
US nuclear submarine smashes into mystery underwater object in South China Sea leaving several sailors injured
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The Sun news desk?
Email us at exclusive@the-sun.co.uk or call 02077824104. You can WhatsApp us on 07423 720 250. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours
Click here to get The Sun newspaper delivered for FREE for the next six weeks.