054/A FFG Thread II

[joshuatree]

That will be out of question. First western arm embargo is still on China. Plus price for western suit will be a issue. Precisely Thai Navy looking for China for armament is due to limited budget. An all Chinese warship will give the most out of the bucks!

Both Naresuan and Pattani classes field Western equipment.

 

[delft]

From the site of Jane's:

China offers Type 054 to meet Thai frigate requirement
By Jon Grevatt

1/30/2013

China has offered Thailand its Type 054-class Jiangkai frigate to meet a requirement to procure multipurpose frigates for the Royal Thai Navy (RTN), thus potentially putting Beijing and Washington head to head in a large-scale international procurement programme.

Sources have confirmed to IHS Jane's that preliminary discussions between Thailand and China have commenced over the potential deal, in which China has said it is prepared to sell to the RTN three Type 054-class vessels at a cost that will meet the programme's budget of USD1 billion.

While the RTN is said to favour a purchase of a US, European, or South Korean platform, the potential deal to procure from China is being led by the government, which views the Type 054-class as a cost-effective alternative to Western vessels. Additionally, logistical arrangements would favour China given that Thailand already operates a number of Chinese naval platforms.

Lockheed Martin of the US has already confirmed that it is considering offering its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) as a solution.

A deal to procure the Type 054-class vessel would include technology transfer to enable maintenance, repair, and overhaul and to locally produce unspecified components under licence from Type 054-class designer and constructor Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.

200 of 913 words

The article says "three Type 054-class". I don't think a Chinese yard will want to build two ( or three ) old type ships, when it can be building 054A's and the Thai navy wouldn't want to wait until all three ships are built in Thailand. So the probability is that both PLAN 054's will be sold to Thailand while the third will be built in that country.
I also don't think the Thai navy will want to pay for the maintenance of LCS's, let alone the purchase!

 

[steve_rolfe]

If not 3 Type 054 (even though there are only 2), i dont think the Chinese would build 3 type 054A's for a foreign navy at this point, as this would tie up all the work space at the HD and HP shipyards for sometime, preventing the PLAN from building new ships for thier own navy!

 

[asif iqbal]

But then 3 FFG can't be costing $1 billion, certainly not Type 054 even if it was Type 054A I doubt it would cost that much for 3 FFG, I think Saudi paid around $1 billion for the 3 La Fayette-class frigate but that's another story

Lots of misinformation floating around guess we have to wait and see the real deal

Come to think of it the production for the Type 054A will soon exceed the La Fayette-class frigates, a milestone achievement

 

[asif iqbal]

If not 3 Type 054 (even though there are only 2), i dont think the Chinese would build 3 type 054A's for a foreign navy at this point, as this would tie up all the work space at the HD and HP shipyards for sometime, preventing the PLAN from building new ships for thier own navy!

I think there is spare capacity when export orders come in its very important for shipyards, I mean they slipped in 3 F22P frigates in no time

 

[MwRYum]

From the site of Jane's:

The article says "three Type 054-class". I don't think a Chinese yard will want to build two ( or three ) old type ships, when it can be building 054A's and the Thai navy wouldn't want to wait until all three ships are built in Thailand. So the probability is that both PLAN 054's will be sold to Thailand while the third will be built in that country.
I also don't think the Thai navy will want to pay for the maintenance of LCS's, let alone the purchase!

It's still too early to tell anyway, if the Thai Navy opt not to use Chinese weapon and sensor suites as before, then it's just the hull of the 054 but with Mk41 VLS and other stuff the Thai afford to buy...like the OTO Melara 76mm Super Rapid, the Thai already using it on several classes of their vessels so it'd make good sense to keep using it, alas now need a stealth cupola to incorporate into the overall RCS reduction design of the 054.

 

[hmmwv]

But then 3 FFG can't be costing $1 billion, certainly not Type 054 even if it was Type 054A I doubt it would cost that much for 3 FFG, I think Saudi paid around $1 billion for the 3 La Fayette-class frigate but that's another story

Lots of misinformation floating around guess we have to wait and see the real deal

Come to think of it the production for the Type 054A will soon exceed the La Fayette-class frigates, a milestone achievement

IIRC each 054A will cost RMB 2.5 billion each, so that's roughly USD 400 million, not purchasing the full weapons and sensor package will reduce price dramatically, so $1B sounds about right. The rumored Z9C must be free then.

 

[joshuatree]

It's still too early to tell anyway, if the Thai Navy opt not to use Chinese weapon and sensor suites as before, then it's just the hull of the 054 but with Mk41 VLS and other stuff the Thai afford to buy...like the OTO Melara 76mm Super Rapid, the Thai already using it on several classes of their vessels so it'd make good sense to keep using it, alas now need a stealth cupola to incorporate into the overall RCS reduction design of the 054.

From the site of Jane's:

The article says "three Type 054-class". I don't think a Chinese yard will want to build two ( or three ) old type ships, when it can be building 054A's and the Thai navy wouldn't want to wait until all three ships are built in Thailand. So the probability is that both PLAN 054's will be sold to Thailand while the third will be built in that country.
I also don't think the Thai navy will want to pay for the maintenance of LCS's, let alone the purchase!

Correct me if I'm wrong but I always thought the major distinctions between 054 and 054A were the weapon and sensor suites? If that's the case, don't think Hudong shipyard would have any problem churning out a hull for the Thai Navy even it if it's the 054 model, something they haven't built in years. Also, it does make sense the Thai Navy would want to keep things consistent by continuing to use Mk41 VLS and OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid. So it would be plausible that the deal in discussion would involve the sale of 525 & 526, the work needed to remove Chinese weapon/sensors, prep them for the Western gear, and build one more hull. All easily within the $1 billion budget.

 

[asif iqbal]

Yes I think the hulls are the same between Type 054 and 054A

 

[A.Man]

054B, 054A+++, or Just A Wet Dream?