055 Large Destroyer Thread II

by78

by78

General
Two screen captures that give you a sense of the size of the 055 and how clean its lines are.

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Lethe

Lethe

Captain
Blitzo said:
That said, I do agree that it makes sense for a future medium destroyer class to complement the 055 and be significantly cheaper than 055.
However, I don't think such a ship is incompatible with having two helicopter hangars and a requisite capability that you would want for a medium destroyer. A clean sheet, larger ship of say 8,000+ tons with two hangars, 64 VLS, high end sensor suite, in a new hullform and newer propulsion systems (including prime movers) I think should be fairly viable -- keeping in mind that the 055 will have a successor/future variants as well that are likely to incorporate significantly more capable and costly systems too.
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Sounds fantastic, if it can be achieved at a cost that makes it attractive as a complement to 055. It seems we have differing perceptions on how achievable that is. The basic principles and assumptions I am operating with here are that (1) capability scales above linear increase in size and cost, favouring larger ships like 055, (2) a future medium destroyer would follow 052D in having a high-end AAW sensor fit, and (3) the costs associated with such a high-end AAW fit are a significant proportion of total costs. Hence my conclusion that cost control for such a platform is a major challenge, and the corresponding suggestion that greater specialisation for the AAW role is one means of making a future medium destroyer "work". That said, I don't think the fine-grained detail on relevant examples are out there to aid in taking the discussion beyond general principles, and hence we have probably exhausted the potential for discussion at this point.

It did not come up directly in the discussion, but I found this 2007 paper interesting and am linking it for others to review if interested:
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Cloud_Nine_

Cloud_Nine_

Junior Member
Registered Member
Guys, I remember a while back CCTV showed a 3D computer model of the propulsion section of Type 055, I searched through the old thread and was not able to find it, and neither could I google it. Can anyone help, please? Thanks!
 
H

Hitomi

Junior Member
Registered Member
bobsagget said:
Tbh the type 55 is really the optimal size perhaps make it 18,000 tons fully loaded. If you still have to build more smaller ships you now have to have many times the amount of crew and maintenance is still a costly pita
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As much as like I like to see such a large Chinese warship, at that point it is reaching WWII heavy cruiser levels in weight and there must be a reason no more heavy cruiser class warships were ordered after WWII. At some point other costs, constraints and limitations will begin to factor in and outweigh the cost benefits achieved from scaling capability with tonnage I believe. (i.e. vulnerability to saturation strikes from the air)
 
A

ACuriousPLAFan

Brigadier
Registered Member
Lethe said:
Sounds fantastic, if it can be achieved at a cost that makes it attractive as a complement to 055. It seems we have differing perceptions on how achievable that is. The basic principles and assumptions I am operating with here are that (1) capability scales above linear increase in size and cost, favouring larger ships like 055, (2) a future medium destroyer would follow 052D in having a high-end AAW sensor fit, and (3) the costs associated with such a high-end AAW fit are a significant proportion of total costs. Hence my conclusion that cost control for such a platform is a major challenge, and the corresponding suggestion that greater specialisation for the AAW role is one means of making a future medium destroyer "work".
Click to expand...
Just to chip in a little.

Here's what I can find regarding the estimated unit costs of major PLAN surface combatants from what I can scout of:
1. 054A-class frigate: ~1.5 billion RMB, equivalent to ~220 million USD
2. 052D-class destroyer: ~3.5 billion RMB, equivalent to ~520 million USD
3. 055-class destroyer: ~6.5 billion RMB, equivalent to ~960 billion USD
(1 USD = 6.78 RMB, 29 January 2023 exchange rate)

For comparison:
1. Constellation-class frigate: ~1.1 billion USD
2. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer: ~1.78 billion USD
3. DDG(X)-class destroyer: ~3.4 billion USD based on latest estimates by the DoD

Notice that the cost difference between the 052D/DL and 055 is around 3 billion RMB, or around 440 million USD.

Combined with the difference between the full displacement and capabilities of the 052D/DL and 055, I believe there are still ample spaces for the tier of medium destroyers like the 052D to expand into, well before role-overlapping and increasing costs would come to justify the total abandonment of the "medium destroyers" in favor of pursuing large destroyers only i.e. 055.

In fact, I think China should pursue a direct counterpart to the Flight 3 Arleigh Burkes as the successor class to the 052D/DLs at around 9000-9500 tons of full displacement, considering the recent guesstimation of the 054B FFGs' full displacement which put them well within the reach of the 052D/DLs.

Following this addition, there would still be around 3000 tons of displacement difference between the "medium destroyers" and the 055 large destroyers. If anything, a hypothetical/expected successor class to the 055s can have an extra 2000 tons of full displacement added, resulting in 15000 tons of full displacement for them. This basically makes the successor-to-055 class into true, proper cruisers (CGs) - And they would still be more powerful and more capable than the Zumwalts.
 
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