The Type 039B is an improved Yuan-family diesel-electric attack submarine variant associated with the People's Liberation Army Navy's Type 039A/B AIP line. Open sources describe the 039B as a revised Yuan boat with sail, hull, flank-sonar, and acoustic refinements, while U.S. defense reporting groups delivered Yuan-class AIP attack submarines under the broader Type 039A/B designation.
The useful public evidence for the Type 039B is strongest at the Yuan-family level. DoD reports Type 039A/B boats as a combined AIP attack-submarine line, while specialist and defense-reporting sources describe 039B refinements in sail shape, flank-sonar fit, acoustic treatment, and export derivatives.
Type 039B is best treated as a Yuan-family variant rather than a cleanly isolated class in public reporting; official split counts by variant remain unclear.
DoD and NTI describe Yuan boats as diesel-electric attack submarines with air-independent propulsion, and DoD places the Type 039A/B line among China's ASCM-capable conventional submarines.
Pakistan's Hangor class and Thailand's S26T are reported as Yuan-family export derivatives, but they are left as unlinked variants here until dedicated public catalog records are created.
Open sources use Type 039A/B for the main Yuan-family PLAN AIP submarine line and often use Type 039C for a later faceted-sail variant. Export derivatives are reported under local designations, but public sources do not always separate official PLAN designations from observer shorthand.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
 | Baseline Yuan-family AIP submarine | DoD reporting groups delivered Yuan-class submarines as Type 039A/B, and USNI treats the A/B line as a shared Yuan-family design for dimensional analysis. Sources: 2024 China Military Power Report, Essay: Inside the Design of China's Yuan-class Submarine |
| Later Yuan-family variant | Covert Shores identifies Type 039C as a later Yuan-family boat with a distinctive angled sail and casing after the 039A/B line. Sources: Covert Shores: OSINT Identification Of Type-039 Song & Yuan Class Submarines |
| Hangor class | Pakistan export derivative | Naval News describes Pakistan's Hangor class as an export variant of the PLAN Type 039B Yuan-class submarine, with four boats built in China and four in Pakistan. Sources: Pakistan Navy Commissions First Hangor-class Submarine in China, Pakistan Navy's third Hangor-class submarine launched in China |
| S26T | Thailand export derivative | Defense News and NTI describe Thailand's S26T as a Chinese Yuan-family export submarine, with reporting varying between Type 039A/Yuan and Type 039B-derived descriptions. Sources: Thai submarine purchase hits rough seas, China Submarine Capabilities |
Open Yuan-class specifications identify tube-launched anti-ship missile carriage alongside torpedoes and mines.
| Ammunition | Ammunition type | Firing evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Anti-ship cruise missile | GlobalSecurity's Yuan specifications list six 533 mm torpedo tubes carrying torpedoes or YJ-83/C-803 anti-ship cruise missiles. |
GlobalSecurity's Yuan-class boat list identifies hulls 334 and 335 as Type 039B boats launched in 2011 after Wuchang construction entries.
Sources: Yuan Class - People's Liberation Army Navy - boat list
GlobalSecurity describes a new conventional submarine launched in mid-December 2013 and frames the 039B as a revised Yuan variant with hull and sail refinements.
Sources: Yuan Type 039B SSP
The Diplomat reported that Type 039B production had resumed, citing imagery of boats fitting out at Wuchang and summarizing the variant's reported flank sonar, revised sail, and AIP fit.
Sources: China Resumes Production of Its Quietest Attack Submarine
The 2024 China Military Power Report said PRC shipyards had delivered 21 Yuan-class Type 039A/B diesel-electric AIP attack submarines and expected at least 25 Yuan boats by 2025.
Sources: 2024 China Military Power Report
Naval News reported Pakistan's first Hangor-class submarine was commissioned in China and described the class as an export variant of the PLAN Type 039B Yuan-class submarine.
Sources: Pakistan Navy Commissions First Hangor-class Submarine in China
