055 DDG Large Destroyer Thread

[Iron Man]

CG is most likely just rough rendering of the real work-in-progress, like I can't believe that the bow deck adopts the kind of low-RCS, all covered up design we see on new generation of Europe-made warships.

I don't know why you "can't believe" it. A clean foredeck design is easily within the realm of possibility for the 055.

 

[MwRYum]

I don't know why you "can't believe" it. A clean foredeck design is easily within the realm of possibility for the 055.

If we are to go by the typical PLAN practice, they'd have first try it out on smaller ships to have a feel for it before introducing it to something as major surface combatants as the 055.

 

[Blitzo]

CG is most likely just rough rendering of the real work-in-progress, like I can't believe that the bow deck adopts the kind of low-RCS, all covered up design we see on new generation of Europe-made warships.

In any case, by this progress the hull should be fully put together by December.

It's early days yet, but I do believe there was a picture of a suspected 055 bow module from a few months back showing a bow that was only half complete, and when compared to 052D modules at a similar stage of completion, suggested that bow module could be a low profile, covered up bow in the style of some European surface combatants.
So in the case of 055 I wouldn't deride the possibility of it having a lower profile, lower RCS bow compared to its predecessors. Remember as well that this is meant to be a brand new class of warship and has been consistently said to offer some meaningful more attention to signature reduction... and a "covered up" bow is hardly some sort of difficult to achieve high industry of technology.

However, that isn't to say I necessarily agree with the CGI's depiction of every aspect of the overall hull and bow.

 

[Blitzo]

If we are to go by the typical PLAN practice, they'd have first try it out on smaller ships to have a feel for it before introducing it to something as major surface combatants as the 055.

Not really -- an "enclosed bow" isn't even some sort of high technology subsystem like a VLS, phased array radar or missile system that needs to be fielded in a limited way to be verified.

More importantly, the Chinese shipbuilding industry has now reached a stage where "typical" or "historical" Chinese naval shipbuilding practice of iterating new designs in small pairs before mass production, or testing subsystems in a limited way for a prolonged period, is no longer mass applicable for every type of ship anymore, and blanket assuming every new design feature or subsystem may need to be "tested out" before being deployed in a production vessel is now overly simplistic.

Increasingly, we will have to consider each new design feature or subsystem that may or may not be implemented in the context of the Chinese shipbuilding industry and the capability of the relevant supplier chain all in the present, and consider those features and subsystems within the context of the type of ship they're fielded on as well, instead of simply assuming anything new, large or small, should be expected to be tested on small scale first.

In the case of an "enclosed/low profile bow," I do think such a configuration is easily within the capabilities of the Chinese shipbuilding industry and design institutes, and is not something they would have to test on any sort of practical real world ship, before implementing on a production vessel, and can instead reach a sufficient degree of maturity and reassurance via their own internal R&D process.

 

[Iron Man]

Not to mention I don't even recognize any "typical" pattern of testing stealth features on smaller ships before introducing them to bigger ships. The Luhai pioneered the practice of hull shaping. This was subsequently taken to a greater extent on the 052B and 054, both launched within a year of each other. I don't even see a pattern of testing other systems on smaller ships either. There are specific test ships for this very purpose.

 

[taxiya]

People should avoid fixating to a fictional (current) or outdated (real but past) Chinese practice in analysing and predicting Chinese development. Things change fast, especially in today's China.

 

[SinoSoldier]

Assembly is surely picking up pace.

 

[Tyloe]

Why don't they post photos?

 

[SinoSoldier]

Why don't they post photos?

Not everybody likes tea.

 

[vesicles]

Not everybody likes tea.

Yet, we have photos of the CV-17...