Re: PLAN Type 052 Class Destroyer
I appreciate the logical debunk regarding the CIWS, maybe I made too much out of it. I would be fully convinced if someone can point out another ship out there that has a CIWS partially blocked by something else right in front of it.
Ticonderoga, 054A, type 45. Having blind spots for ciws is nothing very new. More importantly, having blind spots is not a very big issue because if you've detected a threat at a distance it takes literally a manner of seconds to orient your ship with time left over to engage it once it enters range.
And that is only if the threat is coming in the very small volume of your blind spot in the first place, which is unlikely.
Since the main gun turret moves and it is not a uniform shape all around, the blocked angles are not the same all the time, so the CIWS' blocked angles are more than just when both turrets are pointed at the bow. Yes the weapons can be synced to avoid interfering with each other but that seems unnecessarily complicated when the CIWS can simply be raised by several feet, unless that interferes with something else whether it be the Aegis-like radars or weight distribution. The main gun can also be locked down while the CIWS is active but once again, is there no better solution? Regardless of the exact reasons why, it just smells fishy to me.
Weight distribution, cost, etc are all reasons for why the ciws may not have been raised. Also, as mentioned, the idea of a threat coming in from the frontal angle in the tiny volume of the blind spot can be so easily mitigated just by orienting the the ship a fraction port or starboard, so it is actually the easiest solution.
Most missiles will tend to seek and come in from the side as well, given that is where the largest RCS is. That is why many ships (including 052D) now have forward and back ciws designed to be turned both at port or starboard to put maximum fire in either direction if necessary.
If you look at pictures of 052C and 052D from the side, you will actually see that the arc of fire of the he forward type 730 is not that great on hue he 052C in the first place and 052D just made it a little smaller. That is no real problem, because as I said, the ship can just orient itself in the unlikely scenario that a target approaches from that precise direction.
Aside from the CIWS I still think there is merit to the 052D being a compromise design/rushed job for other reasons, most likely financial and tactical.
Using the 056 as an example again, clearly the PLAN is capable of building something more advanced, more powerful, and which can fulfill more missions. But by going with proven components, a less capable platform overall, and therefore a cheaper design, not only can it be built quickly but also in more shipyards. The modifications made to the 056s post-commissioning seem like they should have been obvious to professional ship designers such as covering up the stack so why wasn't it done in the first place? I think it is because the ships were funded by economic stimulus which was "use it or lose it". Of course they would still spend it on something they need and has decent performance for what it is, but the whole thought process would have given more weight to budget and timeliness (therefore proven technology) and who is getting the order than otherwise.
Something similar happened regarding the 052Cs except that the 052C was an existing design. But then the new radar, VLS, RAM, etc came along and they performed significantly better enough to warrant a new design, just not a completely new one thereby the 052D. This was fine also because the PLAN wants those ships sooner rather than later, and ships with the best and latest equipment, but also not a brand new learning exercise.
I'm not sure what you are talking about here.
Are you saying that the PLAN choosing to use a more evolutionary approach versus revolutionary somehow makes 052D a rushed job?
That is called being pragmatic, reducing risk, and being cost effective. They used an existing hull and current propulsion, but stocked it with a whole new generation of radar, VLS, main gun, and likely internal electronics as well.
Sure, they could have waited for a newer and bigger ship with all new technology and new hull and propulsion, but that might have taken years to emerge and the PLAN clearly had a need to have a set number of ships for the missions they wanted in the near term.
The words "rushed job" imply there is something unsatisfactory, incomplete, or sub par which could have been otherwise avoided. And I don't see how 052D could have been designed much differently considering the likely technologies, requirements, money, and forecasted future fleet growth plans the PLAN had in mind.
I'm not sure how 056 is relevant to the discussion, they are completely different types of warship.
And i think you're seriously overthinking this if you believe the economic stimulus was a big factor in the development of 052D, in fact I'm not even full sure what your position is.
