052C/052D Class Destroyers
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
Maybe in some potential network-centric scenarios, such as the recent test where , one of a series of testing for NIFC-CA.
Of course, that's still quite down the road for PLAN, but it points to the future nonetheless.
Type 346A is already quite a large radar, and the common VLS is already quite large diameter.
They can develop longer range SAMs without needing a physically larger FC radar or VLS; getting more range out of the missiles can be achieved by modernizing the missile's onboard guidance, offboard guidance, improving propellant, improving flight profile.
Navalised SAM had been overlooked by AShM development since adoption on hq-9 and s-300fm. The PLAN's current A2/AD is strongest in anti-ship capabilities, but deficient in air defence, particularly from air lauched stand-off AGMs/AshM. IN 2020s >300-400km will be the new norm.
Advancing data-links and a new long-range SAM should be next step.
Advancing data-links and a new long-range SAM should be next step.
Err, I think navalized SAMs have been developed quite well with the original introduction of HHQ-9 and HHQ-16 in the mid 2000s. I would not be surprised if newer and improved variants are already in service since then, with iterations also in development, and with many of the things we've been mentioning already in advanced stages of development if not already fielded in some forms.
The only issue is that the Navy keeps information about SAMs quite closely guarded, and compared to AShMs it is more difficult to get information about just how advanced they are especially in terms of important parameters like guidance and range versus various target flight profiles.
Also, we shouldn't assume that super long range SAMs is necessarily the only way forwards; I expect proliferation of medium range quad packed ARH guided SAMs and possibly even dual mode or multi-mode guidance to be significant, given the significant increase in quantitative firepower that smaller quad packed SAMs can provide, compared to longer range SAMs which require an entire VLS cell.
I suspect they'll have both quad-packed medium range SAMs and extended range HHQ-9 (HHQ-9B)?) for 055. There have been some rumors/discussions about them for a while now. Although, as you said, it's difficult to know even if they're deployed.
I wouldn't be surprised if an extended range or improved version of the original HHQ-9 fielded on the initial 052Cs have already been fielded tbh.
And yes, I do definitely expect a quad packed SAM to enter service as well.
The most important thing about these missiles in my view is that they can be integrated into all ships with the universal VLS.
Isn't mid-range air defence more stressed on the hq-16 of the Type 054As. chinese ddgs are likely more portionally devoted to long range SAMs compared to foreign counterparts cause of the ffg size. Plus future stand-off agm threat, I think a new SAM, clean sheet design or hhq-9 iteration, is a current objective.
It's not so much that 054A's focus more on mid-range air defense, it's more that PLAN does not have a suitable mid-range air defense missile for destroyers like 05C/D and 055; it's inefficient to equip HHQ-16 on them plus HHQ-16 is not integrated with Universal VLS. You still need mid-range air defense missiles on destroyers for multi-tier air defense, They'd better be quad-packed. 055 will have more VL cells, so it'll have sufficient room for mid-range AA missiles.
That was once true in the past, when 054A used one type of VLS and 052C used another type.
But the Navy has now standardized to a new universal VLS that we see on the 052D, and which we will see on the 055 and which we will probably see on a future frigate as well.
That means all of those ships have the potential to carry long range or medium range SAMs, and the VLS loadout will depend on the most effective use of their onboard sensors, networking, and also on the mission that they are expected to fulfill.
In other words, the role of the new universal VLS is that no ship type is going to be only "restricted" to a single mission based on limitations of their physical VLS, but all ship types equipped with the VLS have multirole capability and can potentially field a mix of long range SAMs, medium range SAMs, as well as AShMs, LACMs, VL ASW missiles, and so on and so forth.