056 class FFL/corvette

The ship looks a lot bigger than i expected. But we remember the one at HP sitting next to the Type 054A that puts things in to perspective. China needs these ships since there are 167 037's that needs to be replaced. And it's not only the 037's there are a lot of ships that needs to be replaced.

11 Type 051 Luda class destroyers
21 Type 053 Jianghu class frigates
167 Type 037 Hainan class missile boats
17 Type 035 Ming class submarines
5 Type 091 Han class submarines
1 Type 092 Xia class submarine

That is nearly halve the fleet that is obsolescent and needs replacement. Not to mention the hundreds of J-7's and Q-5's in the air force and the thousands of Type 59 tanks in the army.

And i think China will replace all of them at a pace that the budget allows them too.

not a bad looking corvette, looks much similar to its bigger brother the Type 054A

i wish PN would get 4 x Type 056s and 4 x Type 056As, that would be a awesome line-up adding to the 4 x F22Ps and 4 x Azmat Class

More pics of the Type 056.

Franklin said:

The ship looks a lot bigger than i expected. But we remember the one at HP sitting next to the Type 054A that puts things in to perspective. China needs these ships since there are 167 037's that needs to be replaced. And it's not only the 037's there are a lot of ships that needs to be replaced.

11 Type 051 Luda class destroyers
21 Type 053 Jianghu class frigates
167 Type 037 Hainan class missile boats
17 Type 035 Ming class submarines
5 Type 091 Han class submarines
1 Type 092 Xia class submarine

That is nearly halve the fleet that is obsolescent and needs replacement. Not to mention the hundreds of J-7's and Q-5's in the air force and the thousands of Type 59 tanks in the army.

And i think China will replace all of them at a pace that the budget allows them too.

Click to expand...

Well there is a general consensus here on this forum among the members based on Chinese sources that PLAN would go between 40-50 (056-OPVs) units.

With your above mention list 037s will be partially replaced by 022s & the remaining once will be replaced by 056s. however, 051 (LUDAs) & 053 (Jianghu) would be replaced by 052C/052D & 054A/B.

A.Man said:

More Like Jianghus' Replacements Rather Than 037's

Click to expand...

OUTSTANING! Launched and in the water. Now we can wait as she is outfitted and then puts to sea.

HD got the first one in the water. HP will not be far behind.

Are they building a second at HD ?

A.Man said:

More Like Jianghus' Replacements Rather Than 037's

Click to expand...

There's no way 056 could be the replacement for Jianghus which is more than twice in size. Just because 056's exterior design looks like 054 in 1/3 scale. Its look doesn't give it twice or three times the fire power or range. It is a 21st century 037 with a helipad. Full stop.

It looks like the rear two 'hangers' aren't for UAV after all. They are for the rear three quarters facing torpedo tubes instead. So, maybe the rumour of 056A with conventional hanger might be sure. Otherwise, 056A won't be that different from the standard 056.

if only we had 2 shipyards making Type 052C destroyers, they would be getting them out much faster

now we have

Type 056
Type 054A
Type 052C
Type 071 LPD

under construction, this is a serious undertaking, looks like China has finally streamlined its production of ships, putting together everything they have learned over the past decades into practice

these are really exciting times for PLAN

timepass said:

Well there is a general consensus here on this forum among the members based on Chinese sources that PLAN would go between 40-50 (056-OPVs) units.

With your above mention list 037s will be partially replaced by 022s & the remaining once will be replaced by 056s. however, 051 (LUDAs) & 053 (Jianghu) would be replaced by 052C/052D & 054A/B.

Click to expand...

I already think the 037 missile boats have been effectively replaced by the 022s. When comparing weapons complement, the 022s simply have modern equivalents of the 037 missile boat weapons complement. I think only the 037 sub chasers are the ones still needing a successor at this point.

kickars said:

There's no way 056 could be the replacement for Jianghus which is more than twice in size. Just because 056's exterior design looks like 054 in 1/3 scale. Its look doesn't give it twice or three times the fire power or range. It is a 21st century 037 with a helipad. Full stop.

It looks like the rear two 'hangers' aren't for UAV after all. They are for the rear three quarters facing torpedo tubes instead. So, maybe the rumour of 056A with conventional hanger might be sure. Otherwise, 056A won't be that different from the standard 056.

Click to expand...

Why can't the 056s replace the earlier and smaller Jianghus? Displacement wise, they are not that far apart. Keep in mind with modern weapons systems, miniaturization has helped offset some of the displacement. Automation has reduced the need for crew and the space needed for them so that further negates displacement. When the 054s were developed, they grew in capability and endurance but that left a glaring hole in the lineup, there is still a need for a basic littoral vessel once the Jianghus get phased out. Weapons complement, they look like they have a similar roster, again 056 having modern versions of each weapon's system.

Is it just me or does the ship's twin exhaust ducts look "unfinished"? Like as if they're missing some cosmetic panel that would make it look more flushed with the rest of the vessel?

Maybe the 056As will simply be a version that's more oriented to sub hunting to replace the 037 sub chasers.

Franklin said:

View attachment 6473

Are they building a second at HD ?

Click to expand...

If that is a recent pic from HD, I'd say yes, it looks like they are. Time will tell.

It appears that there are more components laying around at HP too so maybe they will start another there once their first is launched too. My guess is that they can build these very rapidly if they want, perhaps on the order of 4-6 a year in those two yards.

But there are rumors that the PLAN may build them at at least two other, if not more, yards as well. Souu you may end up seeing 8-10 a year, which means in five to six years they have all fifty of them built.