Okay fair enough.
Question:
Why did most navies overwhelmingly chose turbines instead of diesels for their 30 knot ships.
There is also this famous ship I must add. It will do 30 knots all day.
This leaves me with the question if a new frigate with four diesel electrics with electric motors would still qualify as a "054" or be referred to as a new Type 0XX number.
The advantage of gas turbine is power density. A relatively smaller engine can produce higher power in ratio. This is great for small vessels to move faster.
The advantage of diesels is thermal efficiency. More mechanical energy is converted from a drop of fuel than wasted in heat. This is great for small vessels to move farther. This is why the world's commercial fleet has voted overwhelmingly on diesel over the years.
The vast majority of navies choosing turbines does not mean the PLAN will. The Type 054A is already an outlier among frigates around the world for being all diesel, and has proven to be very successful for the PLAN. Every blue water mission and expedition by the PLAN since this ship's inception includes at least one of these ships. In fact its likely because of the PLAN's increasing blue water focus aligns with a ship that can operate over range economically, maintain and sustain patrols for the amount of dollars or yuan used. The PLAN also put diesels on its AOE, LHD and LPD when other countries use gas turbines. The fact that CSSC may already be in the global edge of diesel engine development along with the Germans, also means you have an engineer clique that further favors the design of diesel powered ships and warships.
This isn't about what you or I think should go into a ship. Its about what they think.
Once again, if the "054B" moniker is maintained, due to the PLAN typing, this is likely an improvement of the basic 054 platform.
If "054B" turns out to be only a working name, and the real name is something like "057" or "058", then it gets interesting that we may have the possibility of a new power train and platform.
