First photo of the 056 I have seen from such an angle which forces me to revisit the topic and say again that the 056 has the capacity for 8x ASM's & up to a 16x round SAM launcher.
056 class FFL/corvette
- Thread starter dingyibvs
- Start date
- Status
First photo of the 056 I have seen from such an angle which forces me to revisit the topic and say again that the 056 has the capacity for 8x ASM's & up to a 16x round SAM launcher.
timepass
Brigadier
steve_rolfe
Junior Member
Exactly, IMO its under armed....
Well, for such a small vessel, the 056 is actually very well armed. The only thing i would say, is that i agree that the 8 cell anti-air missile launcher, possibly could of done with a launcher with more rounds, as of all the threats to the vessel, i would think an air threat would be the greatest.
Anyway, i believe we discussed this sometime ago in this thread, and the conclusion was that being a coastal vessel, the 056 would also have protection from Chinese mainland military resources as well.
The launcher is only available with single cell (for really tight spaces), 8 cell, 18 cell (carrier version like on Liaoning), 24 cell (destroyer version like on Type 052D).
The launcher is manually reloadable at sea though, which is something you can't do with a VLS. The choice of using an 8 cell instead of an 18 or 24 cell might be due to the height of the other two launchers that makes them difficult to reload the upper cells.
I was looking for a way how the crew would reach the deck so they could reload the cells, and it turns out there are doors at the back of the funnels. I also thought that the type would be better if it has a hanger to store and maintain the helo but it looks like there are two hangers for UAVs instead.
In order to remove the overhang, the gun fire control radar needs to be moved forward so its on top of the bridge and then the entire sensor mast needs to be moved forward so the "V's" on the back of the sensor mast would no longer appear, and there is only a straight slanted angle from the bottom to the top. The main radar would then be on top where the fire control radar used to be and the spikey mast behind it would point straight up. That would clear the space over the antiship missiles to allow more space for a crane to load down the canisters.
The more I also look at the mast, the more I think there is potential for doing a small integrated mast to replace the current structure.
The more I also look at the mast, the more I think there is potential for doing a small integrated mast to replace the current structure.
Last edited:
They are not hangars for UAVs. Those two rooms in the back are for the torpedo launchers to swing out when they are about to fire. Extra width is necessary for the torpedo launchers' swinging movement. If you put anything in the space beside the torpedo launchers they will not be able to swing into their firing positions. The wide garage-style doors are for easy accessibility to the torpedo launchers from the helipad, probably for reloading purposes.
In any case, IMO the most likely reason for the current weapons outfit on the 056 is just cost. They could have put an 18-cell HHQ-10 launcher on the 056 and they probably could have put 2 quadruple slant launchers in as well. RAM costs ~$1 million per copy. Even if the HHQ-10 is cheaper by half that's still $5million on top of the extra cost of the bigger launcher. I think it's telling that they also only put an 8-cell launcher on the refurbished JWIIs, which at 2,400t full are significantly larger than the 056s. It seems to be not worth it to the PLAN to put that many SAMs onto a ship that size.
I say a 16x SAM launcher is because somewhere out there is a photo of various FL-3000 mounts of different numbers of rounds and IIRC the 8x and 16x round mounts have the same size base while the others are larger.
I agree it's a cost issue, it may also be a threat perception issue. The current 056 configuration is fine for peacetime, but during hostilities I don't see why they wouldn't up the ammo count so the 056 can hold the line up to a higher threshold before needing reinforcements or retreat.
Yu-8 is the designator for the rocket stage with Yu-11 being the LWT. The complete ASROC system is designated CY-5
Yu-8 range approx. 30km at 650kts
Yu-11 endurance 6 minutes at 26kts - sonar detection range 1.5 to 2.5km. Approx. operating depth down to 600m. 45kg HE warhead
More likely the missile is designated as CY-5 (or some other CY- or CJ- designator), not Yu-8. If designated in keeping with previous PLAN convention then "Yu" ("fish") refers to torpedoes, while "CY" and "CJ" have in the past referred to the rockets/missiles that carry the torpedo payloads.
- Status