054B/next generation frigate
- Thread starter Blitzo
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I might add that after the Type 055 being mass produced into eight ships without having to prove the reliability of the first two, it can be that the PLAN is now beyond this cautious stage, is more confident that the ship will hit targets right at the start, and is now much more willing to make risks. The PLAN can go on and order a good batch (4 to 8 ships) right from the start, with evolutionary improvements after each batch.
But there is no doubt the ship has VDS and TAS installed. That's for ASW operation. Let me also add that being on gas turbines, which gives the ships smoother running, also makes it amenable for ASW operation. There are plenty of good ASW related checks with the ship.
As for flagship, its hard to see it act as a flagship when the Liaoning is around in the same port.
Type 054A is the PLAN's "omni" ship. Backbone. Workhorse. Grunt. All describes the ship.
The latest USN foray into the Taiwan straits also has the obligatory Type 054A following it.
When the JMSDF was tracking that Type 093 near the Ryukus, there was a Type 054A in the vicinity, likely tracking the JMSDF ships.
Every Gulf of Aden mission has a 054A on it, and the only times it didn't was because there were 054 instead.
PLAN deployments into the Philippine Sea, breaking through the MIyako Straits also has the obligatory one or two Type 054A.
We also see Type 054A, working with, if not leading, Type 056/056A 'wolf packs'. We also see the Type 054A working with Sovremennys.
I have very little doubt that the PLAN is very happy with this ship. The follow on has big shoes to follow.
50 ships isn't too much when you consider the OHP class was around 71 ships. The Krivak class was around 40 ships, not counting the new subclass that's still going around.
What about the 055's radars, and there are two sets of them that are new, and one of them has no predecessor. On top of that you got all new EW systems, new IFF systems, even a new CEC system. All these sensors and equipment are bound to create tremendous heat while requiring tremendous amount of juice and cooling. There is plenty of places that can go wrong on this.
As for IEP, I don't think that is enough to dissuade the PLAN from going bold.
Maybe by title, but not in defacto. I don't even know or thinks the PLAN has a "flagship" per se for some years now. The sole 051B for example, hasn't led a single Gulf of Aden mission for a long time, and its appearances seems more like an escort for the Type 071s. The flagship is the ship chosen to have the best command facilities and for the Northern Theater its obvious that role goes to the Liaoning, and to the south, it will be the Shandong.
Radar is a different story. You can largely test it on land. And with the experience gained with 052C/D, they should be quite confident. IEP, on the other hand, is totally new. The situation is similar to what happened for the first two 052Cs, when PLAN first incorporated AESA. It took them several years to refine it. Don't forget, when something totally new is introduced, the problem is not just about the technical issues, you also need to develop a full set of doctrines for the sailers, which takes time.
CVs are commanded directly by PLAN, do not belong to the northern theatre.
At this stage we don't know if the 054B will be put into mass production immediately or if it will need a first batch to be proven first.
Personally, I suspect that if the PLAN are confident with an IEPS mainline surface combatant like 054B, then they would likely be comfortable putting the ship class into mass production from the outset (instead of small scale production like 052, 052B, 052C, 051C in pairs initially), with the most significant concern likely only teething issues rather than anything that is crippling in nature.
The nature of long lead time of surface combatants, means that the amount of time it would need to verify the IEPS completely would likely see a significant pause between the end of 054A production and that milestone. I am not sure if the PLAN would accept such a delay of 054Bs.
Instead, I think it is more likely that the large run of 054As will contribute as part of a method of keeping a sufficiently sized frigate fleet in service by the mid 2020s, in the event that 054Bs see teething issues.
If PLAN would put 054B into mass production from the begining, they wouldn't have ordered so many new 054As. I guess the first batch of 054B could be just 2-4. And there'll be a gap of a couple of years. After that the new batch of 054A should be finished and all newer frigates should be 054Bs.
IEP can be tested by having it equipped on test ships. I should note there already is a number of civilian vessels in China that are IEP, including a cruise ship. This is the same technology used on a conventional submarine.
Refinement of the 052C radar took place in the sea and not just on land. This is because of dealing with the sea clutter in the actual high seas, as opposed to a land based station.
If a carrier is not the ship used for command, I don't know is. The command facilities on the 052 is already long obsolete. You need good radar, you need datalinks, you need a whole set of communications, you also need a special bridge room for the admiral.
Saying that the 052 won't be appropriated for ASW use is ridiculous when they were equipped with VDS and TAS. They were the first vessels in the PLAN to have a VDS and a TAS, albeit French copied originally, then refitted with the modern Chinese designs in 2011/12.
What PLA need
IEP is not just for propulsion. You can't test it solely on civilian ships.
As for 112, even for recent drills involving northern theatre navy, it still works as the command ship. I don't know why, but it's reported consistently. Let's see, if PLAN wants to keep the two 052s as combatants towards 2030s, we should see them getting refitted again very soon. Otherwise, they would likely be decommissioned during 2025-2028 or transfered to Dalian Naval Academy.