056 class FFL/corvette

Bltizo said:

Even without VL Asroc, having a TAS, bow sonar, and a helicopter (and soon VDS), already makes 054A a good ASW option for blue water, and maybe as a control ship for 056s and other assorted airborne ASW assets in green water.

What the PLAN needs is more proliferate numbers of capable medium sized ASW helicopters (basically an ASW Z-20) among all its current ASW capable ships. On bigger ships, like maybe 055 or other future DDGs and FFGs, they should look into larger helicopters like the merlin sized Z-18FQ as a standard complement.

Closer to home, they need to hurry up their Y-8GX6 development and don't stop producing them until they have a few regiments to form a core to build around, and also hurry up with their SOSUS network. Thankfully, it looks like they will soon have a large number of 056As with TAS, VDS, and bow sonar to cover green water, but they need the longer reach of a fixed wing ASW bird, and other ships with organic helicopters, to deliver the prosecution.

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Imho I think that when it comes to ASW, what PLAN lacks most is in the area of sub surface technologies. They need to invest more in R & D in these areas. Having the numbers and different types of equipment is good but it's only half the equation. You truly need top notch sensors, sonars etc to be effective.

kwaigonegin said:

Imho I think that when it comes to ASW, what PLAN lacks most is in the area of sub surface technologies. They need to invest more in R & D in these areas. Having the numbers and different types of equipment is good but it's only half the equation. You truly need top notch sensors, sonars etc to be effective.

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I think it goes without saying that they have, and are investing in those areas, but underwater sensor tech development is hardest to judge, even harder to judge than for radars on aircraft or ships. At least with radars, you can make a few deductions about its type and potential capability based on appearance. Sonar is always unseen, behind a bow dome or a flank array.

Even if their sensors are not the cutting edge, they need to start playing with what they got to develop an experienced core to build on. I think they've already began doing that last decade, such as with the limited number of Y-8X ASW MPAs, but they need to move beyond a limited deployment to a fleet wide operating capability.


I am quite encouraged by the fleet wide deployment of various kinds of sonars onboard new ships, as the PLAN usually does not accept a mass produced product unless it meets their requirements. The question of course, is whether their requirements are competitive enough with everyone else to be an effective fighting tool. But that's a slippery slope we can generalize to every piece of PLA equipment

SinoSoldier said:

Not an expert here, but could the Type 056 theoretically work in tandem with the likes of the 039 submarine, in which one unit would carry out scout duty while the other one packs the punch?

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I think working in tandem with an ASW plane would make more sense.

joshuatree said:

I think working in tandem with an ASW plane would make more sense.

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We have seen a few Y-8FQ aircraft but what China really needs is serious long range submarine hunting aircraft as of now they are limited

After that they need to integrate the whole thing it's a long learning curve ahead

Re: PLAN Type 054 FFG Thread II

Can the 056 be used for mine laying?

What do you guys think about the design decision to mount 2 x H/PJ-17 30mm RWS instead of Gatling-based CIWS?

Initially I found it questionable to depend solely on the FL-3000N for anti-missile defense, but on second thoughts the H/PJ-17 should be fine for an OPV since it's cheaper and is better suited to surface targets.

If an 056 ever needs more than 8 HQ-10s to deal with air threats then I'd say something is terribly wrong.

Most naval remote gun mounts are autocannons rather than gatling guns, so there is nothing unique about 056 using H/PJ-17.

594

A Side Note of 056's:

437厂(Hudong Zhonghua)这回牛叉一把，在056型建造质量评比中，得“双第一”：已交付的，583舰“上饶”号在海军组织的同型舰船综合质量评比中荣获第一名；待交付的，588舰“泉州”号以978的高分名列第一。

Auto Translation:

437 plant (Hudong Zhonghua) this time in the lime light, built in 056 quality evaluation, was "double first": already delivered 583 ship "Shangrao" was awarded first prize in the same type of ship Navy comprehensive assessment of the quality of the organization; to be delivered, the 588-ship "Quanzhou" was ranked first with a score of 978.

StopSquarkS said:

What do you guys think about the design decision to mount 2 x H/PJ-17 30mm RWS instead of Gatling-based CIWS?

Initially I found it questionable to depend solely on the FL-3000N for anti-missile defense, but on second thoughts the H/PJ-17 should be fine for an OPV since it's cheaper and is better suited to surface targets.

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It's all down to design priorities.

The only place they could have put a full-blooded CIWS on the 056 is where the HQ10 is now. And I think we can all agree that the HQ10 is a superior choice to any gun based CIWS they coils have mounted in its place.

Putting gun CIWS where the 054A has their's amidships would have necessitated an entire redesign of his main superstructure and would have eaten up a lot of very limited real estate on the ship.

As Bltizo already pointed out, an 056 should never find itself needing to hold off saturated air attacks by its lonesome.

These ships are designed for low operation in low intensity combat environments and/or against technologically challenged foes.

Under such conditions and against such foes, the RWS are a few more useful addition while something like a Type 730 would have just been a waste.