052C/052D Class Destroyers
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
It’s a total fanboy dream to even think that 22nd unit keel has been laid
Even if you said long lead materials are being sourced I would you have had a wet dream let alone keel
Keep it real and stick to reality too many dreamers on SDF right now
Even if you said long lead materials are being sourced I would you have had a wet dream let alone keel
Keep it real and stick to reality too many dreamers on SDF right now
US shipyards generally don't have enough work, so they generally don't have any rush to launch. So you can see some launch at 9months and others at 18months.
And how many repeats does it take to learn how to do something in the most efficient and quickest manner?
One would think that after assembling 5 of the same ship type, assembly is being done in the most efficient manner as possible.
Especially when there is a backlog of ship orders to fulfil.
I agree that the 22nd unit keel hasn't been laid.
But we're already up to Unit 19 which is under construction.
So Unit 22 is should be 9-12months after Unit 19, given that we're seeing 3-4 destroyers being launched per year.
That means long lead materials for Unit 22 would have to be ordered now.
Dig deeper before making any conclusion.
It is interesting that you believe that the 19th 052D is under construction (which also lacks official source) but not the 22nd has been laid down.
steve_rolfe
Junior Member
For those who have access to Chinese Wiki, or know how to use it 
............Chinese Wiki does list 22 - 052D's, with build status, though how accurate this info is who knows?
............Chinese Wiki does list 22 - 052D's, with build status, though how accurate this info is who knows?Launch rate and commissioning rate for 052D have been at around 2.5 per year. But this is just taking the totals and dividing by 4 in the case of commissioning, and 6 in the case of launching. I doesn't mean the construction follows such a regular pace, and keel laying events, launching, and commissioning can vary from one to 4 or even more, in the case of 2018.
Aside from this, the longer term rates don't have to stay the same either, and we may be witnessing a stepping up of the pace. If we accept the rumor that the carrier program has been accelerated (and facts seem to support this), shouldn't it be clear that construction of escorts would be accelerated as well? In fact, this seems to be happening in all areas of the navy, not just aircraft carriers and their escorts.
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
Let’s put this to rest
JNCX just launched the 14th unit
15th is under construction
DL is building the 16th and 17th
They have been pushed back in dry dock to fit 2 more Type 055
So there is no chance 19th and 20th at DL for a long time
JNCX at most has modules for 18th unit even if but very slim chance I give it
If 18 x Type 052D are on the order books then that’s it
If next iteration follows Type 052E we wait and see
JNCX just launched the 14th unit
15th is under construction
DL is building the 16th and 17th
They have been pushed back in dry dock to fit 2 more Type 055
So there is no chance 19th and 20th at DL for a long time
JNCX at most has modules for 18th unit even if but very slim chance I give it
If 18 x Type 052D are on the order books then that’s it
If next iteration follows Type 052E we wait and see
Launch rate is now up to 3-4 destroyers per year. And all those ships will be commissioned at some point in time.
In terms of China speeding up naval construction, China has lots of spare shipbuilding capacity but wage increases are still fairly fast.
So there's no better time to build lots of ships, which is labour intensive.
Plus if you look at the political situation, a majority of both Democrat and Republican politicians now agree that China is the main strategic competitor to the USA.
I always thought this outcome was inevitable, because the USA has gotten used to being the sole unchallenged superpower in the world. But that is no longer the case as:
1. China now has an economy larger than the US in actual output of goods and services, as measured by Purchasing Power Parity.
2. China spends a modest 2% of GDP on the military. That is a lot lower than the USA, which habitually spends 3-4% of GDP.
3. The National Science Foundation reported to Congress that China is expected to outspend the USA in R&D in 2019. It means China will likely become a high-tech country. And a high-tech country is likely to escape the middle income trap, when countries don't move up the economic value chain.
So it shouldn't be a surprise that China has decided to increase the pace of naval shipbuilding.
My estimate is that Chinese economy is already big enough to sustain 4 destroyers per year indefinitely.
Last edited:
