I somehow don't think they'd go for separate slanted launchers if they go for UVLS system as well. It's either just UVLS or the AJK16 VLS and slanted launchers. Though, I somehow don't believe AJK16 will be used either. Universal vls won't be that universal if not configured to be useful on different ships of different sizes.
Also, I don't expect a gun CIWS in front of the command bridge at all. And I expect either the ship to be noticeably wider and have two hangars, or to stay close to 054a size and have a single hangar. Really depends on whether it's gonna be a 4000 ton ship (054b?) or a 5000+ ton ship (057?) total UVLS cell count for the ship might be in the 32-40 cell range. If it's a larger ship then a new propulsion solution is likely. If similar to 054 then chances of a modified old solution rise.
We'll see how much of these predictions of mine will come true.
Gun CIWS in front and HQ-10 launcher at the rear seems to be some kind of required PLAN format for their larger warships. This was probably decided after the Type 054A went into production. If the ship doesn't have a CIWS, like the 056, you still put the HQ-10 in the rear.
Me thinks that PLAN decided on this format after their own studies, exercises and simulations, or lets simply say their collective homework, that this is an optimal configuration superior to say, putting two CIWS amidships on each side. How they come to this conclusion, what you may think of it, what I think of it, isn't as relevant as what
they think of it.
As for the slanted AshM launchers, the FFG(X) also features slanted launchers.
If the ship is going to use YJ-18, its going to need the 9m version of U-VLS. Note that even on the 052D, the YJ-18 is fired on the front VLS, not the middle ones. I have not seen the 052D fire a YJ-18 from the middle VLS, granted we are only seeing a very small photographs, and we are not in a position to know the entire story, but I am going to wager that the 052D doesn't fire the YJ-18 from the middle aft VLS because the VLS there don't protrude down as deep as 9m. The engines, the machinery section of the ship is right below the VLS. The VLS on the aft section is only up to 7m. In the front however, in the area between the superstructure to the bow, there might not be much underneath, allowing the VLS to reach deeper for a full 9 meters. If you are going to put full length 9 meter VLS in the rear, the VLS will have to protrude upwards from the deck. The question is here is what will it do to the ship's center of gravity.
It's still possible to put a large deep 9 meter VLS on a smaller warship but not in the rear. You have to put it ahead of the machinery section, and that means ahead of the bridge at the bow. You have to concentrate all your U-VLS in front of the bridge, with the deepest ones closest to the bridge that will fire the AshMs, while the front VLS might not be as deep and fires SAMs. Overall, that's going to be putting 40 to 48 VLS right in the front, and set back your main superstructure a bit.
The Admiral Gorshkov illustrates this. There are two sets of VLS, different from each other. The ones behind the gun is a VLS specific to the Redut missiles. Behind it on a raised deck is the UKSK VLS, which is about comparative size to the U-VLS to slightly bigger. The ship is capable of firing Kalibr missiles, the antiship variant of which is likely what the YJ-18 was inspired from.
If the ship is only going to be fitted with all with a U-VLS variant with 5 to 5.5 meters deep, enough for HQ-16 and wide enough to quadpack the so called 3-5 missile, no space for a vertical launched antiship missile here. It would be simple enough to use YJ-12 on a slanted launcher, and it has worked before.
