With six Type 052C active, and now two Type 052D, the PLAN is building up its numbers of very modern multi-role destroyers.
Three more Type 052Ds are on sea trials with two others fitting out. The numbers will continue to grow.
052C/052D Class Destroyers
- Thread starter Jeff Head
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Three more Type 052Ds are on sea trials with two others fitting out. The numbers will continue to grow.
Both Bltizo and I believe it is the PLA is reviving an old tradition of secrecy, as mentioned above. At the same time, according Dr. Larry Caldwell (retired) of Occidental College, one of the reasons why the USSR remain so secret about its military capabilities was to hide its own weakness, so NATO would act with prudence after overestimating Moscow's military strength. Not sure if the PLA is doing same, but we do know that both the 052Cs and 052Ds are inferior to Aegis destroyers in terms of firepower and range (though not necessarily electronics).
As the first and the 2 next for SSF, 9th Destroyer Flotilla based to Yalong Bay which have replaced about a year ago the two 052B who left for Zhanjiang, 2th Destroyer Flotilla.
I am under impression No. 173 had been commissioned for months now.
That secrecy part is completely nonsense. There is absolutely no evidence that PLAN is getting more secret. You would only think that way if you weren't around 10 or 20 years ago when PLA was actually far more secret.
Um, I never said anything about the Chinese military "reviving" anything... what I said is that they have relatively high opsec. What I mean by this is that they are more secretive compared to the military of most other nations. I never said that they are becoming "more secretive" compared to previous years or that they are reviving an "old tradition" -- they've always had high operational security, and like tphuang said, they are actually far less secretive now than they were before.
In China's case, after observation from recent years I think their secrecy is about hoping their enemy underestimates their capabilities and developments rather than overestimating it. For instance, if the US knew how many 052D destroyers China was going to build, or how many carriers China was planning and when, or how many fighters or AEW&C the air force needed, that would allow the US to develop and plan for counters accordingly.
I use the J-20 as an example -- if China had been as open about J-20's development as the US was about F-22, then the world would have known about it as early as 2000 most likely, and that could have driven the US to produce more F-22s or maybe permanently station more of them in the western pacific, or develop counter stealth radars faster, etc.
In other words, by maintaining very high operational security, the Chinese military manages to deprive the opposing side of useful intelligence that they could use to develop counter weapons and strategies for. That means the opfor will need to expend efforts to try and identify what the actual capabilities of the chinese military are (why else do you think the US is constantly wanting China to be more transparent about its military capabilities).
But secrecy can also be coupled with misinformation. countries like Iran or North Korea are also secretive in their military developments but more often than not, they also display military projects which are fantasy, or very early in development, for the sake of nationalism and as a "warning" to the US. obviously such "warnings" are laughed out of the door.
However in China's case, military projects are kept very secret until they are in advanced development -- and the more potentially useful they are, the longer they are kept in the dark. I suspect this is so that if a conflict ever does break out, the Chinese military will have a larger number of weapons that the opposing side is not expecting to be fielded and are unprepared for, which can help even the playing field for the PLA a little if they are facing an advanced and large opposing force.
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asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
Well since I updated Type 056 and Type 054A numbers of 8 and 2 units per year build rate here's Type 052D
In 35 months they launched 7 x Type 052D
That's just over 2 units per year
So they are doing 2 x Type 052D and 2 x Type 054A per year
And 8 x Type 056 per year launches
Between all 3 warships Type 052D, Type 054A and Type 056 that's 12 launches per year or 1 unit every month
That's a healthy production rate that every month China shipyards launches a warship if it continues we can see a very large number of modern naval vessels
In 35 months they launched 7 x Type 052D
That's just over 2 units per year
So they are doing 2 x Type 052D and 2 x Type 054A per year
And 8 x Type 056 per year launches
Between all 3 warships Type 052D, Type 054A and Type 056 that's 12 launches per year or 1 unit every month
That's a healthy production rate that every month China shipyards launches a warship if it continues we can see a very large number of modern naval vessels
by78
General
Just shaking my head at the nonsense the ivory tower folks spout off these days. Secrecy is merely a means to an end, with the end being 'information asymmetry'. Information asymmetry is a much sought-after objective of every military that is committed to winning wars.
End OT post.
steve_rolfe
Junior Member
As posted by a Chinese member at PDF who has recently posted an image of the 2nd 052D under construction at 'Dalian' shipyard.
From what i've read so far, Dalian are not as quick as JN in building the 052D, but that's not surprising, as it must take a bit of time for a shipyard to find its feet and learn the ropes on building a new class of warship.......and Dalian seems to appear to build their warships outside.
In contrast 'JN' have become the Destroyer specialists in China, and now have the 052D class on a very quick production turnaround!
So, are Dalian building the 052D due to the Chinese Navies requirement for a large number of 052D's to help out JN with the burden............or are they taking over some of the production, so JN can concentrate on the 'beast' the 055 Cruiser?
It has also been revealed that China maybe building more Destroyers and Frigates than people think, so as to create an extra flotilla for each of its fleets..............to do so it has been reported that another shipyard is being considered for construction........to help with the build!
From what i've read so far, Dalian are not as quick as JN in building the 052D, but that's not surprising, as it must take a bit of time for a shipyard to find its feet and learn the ropes on building a new class of warship.......and Dalian seems to appear to build their warships outside.
In contrast 'JN' have become the Destroyer specialists in China, and now have the 052D class on a very quick production turnaround!
So, are Dalian building the 052D due to the Chinese Navies requirement for a large number of 052D's to help out JN with the burden............or are they taking over some of the production, so JN can concentrate on the 'beast' the 055 Cruiser?
It has also been revealed that China maybe building more Destroyers and Frigates than people think, so as to create an extra flotilla for each of its fleets..............to do so it has been reported that another shipyard is being considered for construction........to help with the build!
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