We don't know how much internally the ship has to be changed for IEPS, and if such changes would occur, would that incur a different Type number? Type numbers have also been as much as power plant as well as size class, with Type 51 going for steam powered ships, Type 052 going for gas turbine.
Also if you need to go into an IEPS based class, the first two ships may have to be extensively trialed before you can green light the rest. The trialing period could cause an interruption during the time when they need (or perceive the need) for a quick massive naval buildup and/or the continued job subsidy of shipyards, which I expect commercial ship production to fall off during the trade wars. I don't think you can just abruptly cut production of a tried and true ship class like the Type 052 to make way for a technology without sufficient trials at sea. I would go further and say the same thing about the Type 054A too, that even as they go make one or two Type 054B, and trialing those ships before green light for mass production, they have to keep themselves busy with some extra Type 054A. The Pakistan export order seems to have solved that question in the meantime, but I can't still help thinking about some interim Type 054A with improved electronics before fully diving into the Type 054B with the risk of its completely new drive train. The Type 054A has proven to be a very reliable ship, drive train and all, being proven and trusted is an asset worth its weight in gold, and the same goes with the Type 052 series, which has two decades of sweat and tears known as developmental and trial experience behind it.
Type 052E is currently a label but we really don't know what's behind it, and an IEPS, railgun equipped Type 052 might have a different letter altogether. I am thinking of some interim Type 052D, which maybe called Type 052E, that looks to have some of the technologies used in the Type 055, in particular the integrated mast, the arrays over the bridge, and the ESM tower, with the stretched deck for a larger helicopter. While I don't think its a huge jump in terms of combat capability over the 052D, the new electronic suites should still have some advantage on their own, and offer some sort of standardization of radar types across the fleet.
In recent years, we have seen how drive train issues can spoil the party, like what happened to the Type 45 destroyers and the Admiral Gorshkov. This makes wonder the value of continued production of some reliable and trusted types around.
Also if you need to go into an IEPS based class, the first two ships may have to be extensively trialed before you can green light the rest. The trialing period could cause an interruption during the time when they need (or perceive the need) for a quick massive naval buildup and/or the continued job subsidy of shipyards, which I expect commercial ship production to fall off during the trade wars. I don't think you can just abruptly cut production of a tried and true ship class like the Type 052 to make way for a technology without sufficient trials at sea. I would go further and say the same thing about the Type 054A too, that even as they go make one or two Type 054B, and trialing those ships before green light for mass production, they have to keep themselves busy with some extra Type 054A. The Pakistan export order seems to have solved that question in the meantime, but I can't still help thinking about some interim Type 054A with improved electronics before fully diving into the Type 054B with the risk of its completely new drive train. The Type 054A has proven to be a very reliable ship, drive train and all, being proven and trusted is an asset worth its weight in gold, and the same goes with the Type 052 series, which has two decades of sweat and tears known as developmental and trial experience behind it.
Type 052E is currently a label but we really don't know what's behind it, and an IEPS, railgun equipped Type 052 might have a different letter altogether. I am thinking of some interim Type 052D, which maybe called Type 052E, that looks to have some of the technologies used in the Type 055, in particular the integrated mast, the arrays over the bridge, and the ESM tower, with the stretched deck for a larger helicopter. While I don't think its a huge jump in terms of combat capability over the 052D, the new electronic suites should still have some advantage on their own, and offer some sort of standardization of radar types across the fleet.
In recent years, we have seen how drive train issues can spoil the party, like what happened to the Type 45 destroyers and the Admiral Gorshkov. This makes wonder the value of continued production of some reliable and trusted types around.
