056 class FFL/corvette

Major sections of the hull are putting together at this time. Given the upcoming Chinese New Year will be on the coming January, they'll want to have it put together before that or else work will only fully resume in mid-February, when the dock workers come back from the holiday. However, given these are the lead boat of the class, they might opt to go slow and steady, thus to set up the workflow template for the future boats.

So my money would be mid-February at the earliest, though we might see the full hull by early January.

sigh...

these things were what LCS ought to be.

i.e. said:

If there is no TAS and torpedo tubes on these then there is no real point to build them.
save the hassle and just build more 037s.
1000 extra tons for crew comfy and a helo pad? too much.

Click to expand...

i.e. said:

sigh...

these things were what LCS ought to be.

Click to expand...

I don't think PLAN is comfortable enough yet with their trimaran design to really start mass producing any of those. The 056 is a new ship but mostly uses proven design work. And the 037s are in need of being replaced. If China wants to expand deploying ships to far off places on a routine and meaningful basis, there are simply not enough vessels to cover both home waters and abroad so the 056 with the 022 seems to be part of a hi-lo doctrine.

Assuming if the 056 is merely an updated 037 with 1000 tons more in displacement, that's still a meaningful upgrade because that means endurance should be increased significantly and an OPV is best utilized when deployed and patrolling. But I doubt it will merely be just an extra large 037.

MwRYum said:

The 056 is too small to have a helicopter hanger, besides it's not envisioned to operate too far from shores.

Click to expand...

I think the Mexican Navy operates about 2 dozen Corvettes/OPV's in the 1,000 - 1,500 ton displacement range with helipad and hanger. Assuming that the 056 is around the same displacement (or larger), I think they could've designed it with a hanger if they wanted one. But that wasn't the case with the 056.

i.e. said:

If there is no TAS and torpedo tubes on these then there is no real point to build them.
save the hassle and just build more 037s.
1000 extra tons for crew comfy and a helo pad? too much.

Click to expand...

My money is on the 056 being a well armed OPV and not an ASW corvette. I'd also predict that this ship, or variants of, will be exported.

Agree. Adding, that it may already have been exported, as 056 seems to be based on the two PATTANI class OPV's for Thailand.

Future Type 056 corvette

Jeff Head said:

Here's a quick comparison of the Type 056 and the Type 054A. Have a line art and a depiction of each:

Click to expand...

Jeff, would you kindly not post shipbucket drawings uncredited here. The shipbucket site and community has rather clear and usable fair-use instructions:



This by behalf both Shipbucket's and Sinodefence's staff.

Gollevainen said:

Jeff, would you kindly not post shipbucket drawings uncredited here.

Click to expand...

No problem Goll. I have added a statement crediting the initial side views to Shipbucket, but made changes there too, inlcuding of course adding the top and front views. I have no probklem indicating that the initial side view is based on the ship bucket drawing.



..and also in:

I'm not sure if it is the type 056, but if you go to google maps and search 23.093320, 113.405900, you can see a small-ish ship that has something resembling a helipad. I don't think it's a type 054a. There is a 054a nearby at 23.082355,113.40616 and you can compare them. The VLS on the 054a is very visible. Just for comparison, at 23.090294, 113.423325 is a type 022.