Balhae-class submarine

The Balhae-class is a of    in service in the Republic of Zhenia Navy. Primarily replacing the older Chang Munmu-class submarines that have historically fulfilled similar roles, the Balhae-class is expected to fulfill several roles as the primary undersea warfare platform in the Republic of Zhenia Navy, with several innovations in stealth, sensors, weapons systems and nuclear propulsion technology. They are designed to perform an array of missions both in open oceans and littoral waters alike, including anti-submarine roles and long-range surface strike within contested waters, thus earning its name "hunter-killer".

Submarines of the class are named after historic Zhenian entities and modern-day Zhenian provinces, most notably Balhae Province and the Empire of Balhae, the namesake of the class. Expected to be operated in tandem with newer Munmu-class submarines, their production is set to continue well into the 2030s, with later units to remain in service until 2060 or later. It is thus expected to form the main tip of the spear of Zhenia's nuclear submarine fleet for the decades to come.

History
Designs for a new nuclear attack submarine initiated on December 1990, when limitations to the then-new Chang Munmu-class submarines in RZN service, particularly concerning endurance and quieting during operations, were revealed following an assessment from the Naval War Institute of the Zhenian Navy.

Armament
The primary armament of the Balhae-class is seen on its six 533 mm torpedo launcher tubes, which can not only fire anti-submarine or anti-surface torpedoes but also anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles.