I am saying these large frigate makers are making a big mistake. They will get absolutely smoked by the Hi set up like 052D, but are not cost efficient to be a Lo.
Second-tier states still need sea power, both for their use and to contest someone else's sea power.
Everyone with
any ambition or self-preservation needs it.
Yes, a strike-oriented navy (which PLAN still was just a few years ago, btw) is a less rounded/survivable concept than a "Hi" setup. It is much less capable of achieving a sustainable&exploitable sea superiority: not like nations using this concept really have the means to proactively exploit it anyway. It still can threaten (deter) and fight a "Hi" navy in a naval battle. Especially under its shore(or maybe with friendly targeting). Soviets did it against "Hi" Americans during CW more than once (without actual shooting of course), and with some remarkable successes.
More importantly, such navies most certainly can compete against each other, which is in most cases the point. Like, RN/MN won't really be able to fight PLAN - but deterring Russian Northern Fleet is certainly doable. And vice versa.
It's especially true when 2nd tier navies actually open a naval history book and get a carrier. And now, now they're one hell of a threat, no matter if they're escorted with air defense (or general purpose) frigates or true networked destroyers. Because a good strike wave or two is a lot of sudden fun.
That - for much much cheaper, and in a much more achievable manner, than a full hi navy.
Like again - who, other than the US and China can for example pay for space and air components of a Hi system?
Russia? Who'll pay, China?
Even at its current level, Russia needs to get its act together.
Europe, even together: did I miss them recently being able to launch anything not by an American launcher?
India: just no capability yet, and won't come in the foreseeable future. And for them, this step isn't even the first problem - like let them get more than a single rented SSN at least.
Others: lol.
Gorshkovs are not anything close to 054A so I fail to see the point of comparing it. Gorshkovs are the best post soviet system Russia has, so it focus a lot on firepower unlike 054A. 054A is one of the few true Lo type of system that do not pretend to be anything more.
Gorshkov(22350) is not the same as 11356R(Russian counterpart to Indian Talwar class). They're closely comparable to 054A (in fact, widely speculated to be sister designs).
11356R is more offensive, 054A is more well-rounded, but from the point of view of their basic suitability - it doesn't matter. In a model Ukrainian threat environment (which, for example, all potential hostile SCS nations - Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, - can replicate and more) - they're more or less similar. And certainly, all of those nations can replicate starlinked explosive boats.
Both designs share similar dated search radar and similarly moderately capable combat system, both use very...close HHQ-16/Shtil with more or less the same 4 illuminators; both have a couple of CIWS.
Yes, 054a is somewhat more capable of defending itself and others. Not to the point where it is something
radically different.
And we can already say with sufficient certainty - no, in this moderate threat, this level of capability is at least constrained in where it can go and how much it can escort. Which is a problem. Imagine how bigger the problem will be, if SLOCs grow bigger, and individual pressure will go up. For example, just as a scenario, where Chinese frigates need to escort traffic all the way from the Gulf, without drawing units from the battlefleet.
As for why they make big frigates, that is a complicated question. For most, they dont have their own subsystems, so they just cram the American big VLS on it. American as we know do not operate any frigate, so that is that. As for why American do not operate frigates, that is another separate mistake we don't need to get into.
Americans operated frigates for decades - and, while they currently s...are bad at putting
any new design into production, Constellation itself is a feasible counterpart to the Burkes. Though to their misfortune, Congress does everything in its power to make it into a stupid ersatz-destroyer.
054B, while quite large, is not a “heavy frigate" per se. It's just a natural evolution of 054A, taking into account increased requirements of the (necessarily) more capable sensor/processing suite, more autonomy, as well as simply leveraging increased shipbuilding capability (like why save money on something what isn't that much of a bottleneck).
Can it nonetheless be put into high threat scenario(together with fleet)? yes, why not, it's datalinked for that. It isn't exactly optimized for that, but it can be done, and it will carry its weight, no problem.
We aren't in an era of ships of the line, there is no hard line dividing the two.