Again it reminds us that we should never judge a book by its cover.
055 DDG Large Destroyer Thread
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Again it reminds us that we should never judge a book by its cover.
Actually, at the time Qing sailors may be better trained than Japanese ones. The rate of hits from the Qing ships was twice the rate from the Japanese ships. Except that the Japanese ships were equipped with quick fire guns so the rate of fire is several times higher than the Qing ships.
Report to congress on DDGX project, it seems to describe a ship best described as an "American 055" with displacement somewhere around 12,700 tons and AB Flight III system, so presumably AN/SPY-6 dual band AESA. Not sure if it would have Mark 41 or something bigger. The main difference from 055 design is it would use IPS.
Indirect validation of 055 design I would think?
by 2028, when DDGX is launched, I will expect 055 have ISP too
I think the 055's overall design does not need validation. Not difficult to see that the 055 has already succeeded in key areas where the USN has failed.
For instance, the USN's only dedicated volume search radar is the vintage AN/SPY-1 (and 1D and other variants). The SPY-4 that was supposed to replace it was cancelled for all ships except Ford. They had to reprogram the Zumwalt's X-band SPY-3 so that it could half-ass the job the SPY-4 was meant to fill.
The SPY-6 will be the new volume search radar instead of the SPY-4 but the SPY-6 is not a dual-band array. They still need to decide on a higher frequency radar for fire control and horizon search and nobody knows if they will re-use the SPY-3 or if they will develop new equipment. They have even suggested using an improved variant of the AN/SPQ-9B mechanical illuminators alongside the SPY-6 for the Flight III Burkes until an affordable X-band radar is ready (i.e. not the SPY-3).
IPS is the one area that the USN already has experience in and can probably improve on for the DDG(X). Maybe they will introduce a new VLS also. But I think the radars is where they will struggle a little. Or maybe they are just being very secretive.
The report explains that in terms of displacement the new ship will fall in the range between AB FLIII (~ 10,000mt) and Zumwalt (16,000mt). Since the new ship will have to replace the aging Ticonderoga cruisers, it was given that it would have to be larger than ABs. The question was just by how much. I think it is too early to speak of similarities to the Type 055.
SPY-6 is not a dual-band radar, but rather a S-band search radar. SPY-6 seems the likely candidate for the S-band search radar role, because it will be fielded in large numbers on FLIII DDG-51 destoyers, Constellation class frigates, FLII San Antonios and America class LHAs and possibly also retrofitted on FLIIA DDG-51s.
However, it is not the only currently available option for the USN. SPY-7 is another AEGIS compatible S-band radar. As I read recently, JMSDF is considering to install the SPY-7 on its future sea based anti-ballistic missile defense platform. Both radars are designed with anti-ballistic missile defense as a key function from the get-go.
Dual-band array? I never heard that was the ambition. Ford class has dual-band search radars, which is just a marketing term for two separate radars, one operating in S-band and the other in X-band, managed by one combined radar control system. Ticonderoga class cruisers have triple band search radars (L-band, S-band, X-band).
AN/SPQ-9B is not a mechanical illuminator. It is a PESA X-band search radar. The mechanical illuminators are the AN/SPG-62, that are retained on the AB FLIII.
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I confused the SPG-62 with the SPQ-9B, sorry. Both systems should still be relevant as they are retained on the Flight III Burkes.
I am aware that "DBR" is just a marketing term, but the systems that come out of it in actuality resemble a real step forward. The 055, for example, features a centrally managed S-band volume search AESA alongside an X-band horizon search + fire control AESA. Why, then, does the USN insist on sticking with the SPQ-9B PESA and a SPG-62 mechanical illuminator, whereas the 055 fulfils both roles with a single 4-panelled X-band AESA?
Is it because the DBR fell through due to cost overruns? Going back to my original query, will they use the SPY-3 to replace the SPG-62 and the SPQ-9B, or are they developing a new system from scratch? The Flight III Burkes we know will use the current setup but what about DDG(X)?
Maybe you are right, that dual-band AESA isn't the ambition the USN is trying to achieve. But that would mean their surface combatants will never reach parity with the 055 as far as the sensor suite is concerned. Which, as we know, is already using a full set of AESAs in the S-band and X-band with GaN-based modules. That's the question I'm trying to raise.
That has never been confirmed. In fact, nothing whatsoever has been published regarding any of the Type 346 variants, going all the way back to the early 00s and the Type 052C destroyer. That it's a S-band AESA is a guesstimate. So is the speculation that it contains a C-band illuminator and/or C-band uplink antennae as part of the radar face. Same for the new radar on the Type 055. It is a guesstimate that it operates in X-band. It is speculation that it has ICWI capability to guide SAMs.
I don't know. They never explained why. One advantage that SPQ-9B has is that it's much lighter and can therefore be installed high up the mast at about 40m above the surface, extending the radar horizon against sea-skimmers. Again, what you wrote about 055 is speculation. It hasn't been confirmed that it has ICWI capability.
DBR was supposed to be installed on ~30 Zumwalt class destroyers and a beefed up variant on a dozen or so CG(X) cruisers. Since both platforms were essentially cancelled, the sole remaining platform is the Ford class carrier. At this point, SPY-4 has been obsoleted by SPY-6 and SPY-7 so it's a dead end. Future Ford carriers will get a variant of the SPY-6 radar.
Nothing has been said on this topic with regards to DDG(X), but I think they will get a new X-band search radar. At some point, the FL III Burkes will get a new X-band search radar too, based on what I read. The animations of FL III AB from the early 2010s indicated a 3 face AESA, above the bridge. The AN/SPG-62 illuminators were retained even with that "dual-band" radar arrangement. If you pay attention in the first 20s of this video, you can see how it was envisaged back then:
My reply was to your claim about "dual band array". The USN already has a dual-band AESA radar system on the Ford. Dual-band or triple-band radars are almost a certainty on the DDG(X).
Again, GaN is just speculation at this point in time. Nothing has been confirmed.
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