052/052B Class Destroyers

asif iqbal

Lieutenant General
DDG 167

be49974c81dbff16be204affcba88533_zpsd9fugo5h.jpg
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Wow!

Pretty much all masts, sensors, and weapons have been removed.

This will be interesting to watch.

Are they simply doing a major refurbish/maintenance of the existing systems? Or are they going to come in with an all new fit?

I hope to see an all new fit.

How would it be to see her with the new main gun? A VLS? New CIWS, new sensor suite, etc., etc.?
 

asif iqbal

Lieutenant General
We are seeing a major overhaul programme for PLANs older DDG fleet with most of them getting total new outfit

I think it's a good move these ships are good and will last many more years after being upgraded with new systems

All in all if PLAN can extend the life of all it's older units plus the Sovs we have over 10 DDG warships that will add a great compliment to the new warships
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
We are seeing a major overhaul programme for PLANs older DDG fleet with most of them getting total new outfit

I think it's a good move these ships are good and will last many more years after being upgraded with new systems
Agreed.

They have a lot of life left on their hulls and they represent a significant investment, and opportunity for modernization too to keep them on point and able to influence events.

Heck, if they get the two Type 052s, this Type 051B, the four Sovs, and then later the two Type 051Cs all modernized, that simply keeps nine strong destroyers within the PLAN.

Smart move and something the US has done with warships for a long time.

The PLAN is coming of age in terms of the capability to keep their combatants relevant.

Earlier they did of course upgrade the older Type 051s and the older Frigates...but those vessels started out considerably behind the curve when they were launched and they simply were never able to really catch up.

Now, the PLAN has much more modern capabilities, and these particular DDGs were not nearly as far out of date to start with, so adding these newer capabilities will certainly help keep them much more relevant for the next 15 or more years..[/QUOTE]
 

Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
167 would make a useful command ship, or a large ASW ship.
For both roles, re equip it lightly with a main gun, 8 AShM, some CIWS.
For a command ship, expand electronics, datalinking capability, and CIC with room for flag officers. Without the need for a CIC to manage a large number of weapons and advanced sensors it can be better used to manage other ships rather than its own subsystems.
For a large ASW ship, it'll be more difficult as they should add a TASS, the new VDS and hopefully modernize the bow sonar too. Having two hangars for ASW helicopters is also useful of course.

Both modernized versions of 167 would be quite useful to PLAN.

there are also ideas that it could become a dedicated combat training ship.
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
167 would make a useful command ship, or a large ASW ship.

For both roles, re equip it lightly with a main gun, 8 AShM, some CIWS.

For a command ship, expand electronics, datalinking capability, and CIC with room for flag officers. Without the need for a CIC to manage a large number of weapons and advanced sensors it can be better used to manage other ships rather than its own subsystems.

For a large ASW ship, it'll be more difficult as they should add a TASS, the new VDS and hopefully modernize the bow sonar too. Having two hangars for ASW helicopters is also useful of course.

Both modernized versions of 167 would be quite useful to PLAN.

There are also ideas that it could become a dedicated combat training ship.
It will be interesting to see which way they go with it.

Of course, they could also be updating/enhancing the sensors and communications, and upgrading the existing weapons systems, to keep it as a more effective DDG too.

I guess making it more dedicated to ASW would also be along those line.

A training ship would be very useful.

I think if they really wanted a command vessel, they would want something a little larger...but that would be along the lines of what the US did for such ships.
 

Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
Of course, a command version of 167 won't be as capable as say, the USN's blue ridge class, but could still be quite useful especially if they do a good job stripping out some of the weapons and associated subsystems.

On that note, I think PLAN should look into building a few ships similar to the Blue Ridge class, possibly based off the 903A hull, similar to their Yuanwang space event ships. They're large ships with plenty of space and the Yuanwang ships have already proven the viability of integrating complex datalinking, electronics and monitoring systems.

I'm sure each of the PLAN's fleets won't mind having a dedicated, sizable vessel to manage their increasingly large order of complex ships in future.
 
Last edited:
Top