Mysterre
Banned Idiot
Who said it would have to try and pick up any submarine tracks? You should read it again carefully: the 056's purpose in that scenario is to drive a submarine into a trap, not necessarily to localize a sub's coordinates for the purpose of attack. Also, "bang" is a word you are taking literally which in practice doesn't happen regardless and therefore has no reason to be nitpicked about. In this case "banging" a sonar signifies the intent of the action rather than what actually comes out of the sonar emitter.
Clearly that is not true in all circumstances, most especially if your own H-K submarine is significantly inferior to your prey, such as is the case with USN and PLAN submarines. In this case it would be like a wolf hunting a tiger: stupid, dead wolf; full, happy tiger.
There are other solutions that are far superior to an ASW helicopter using dipping sonar or sonobuoys for the detection of submarines, namely fixed wing ASW planes and SURTASS/LFA sonar ships. In the case of sonar ships, they would certainly be part of a surface fleet in wartime and would be able to utilize the fleet's armament if a sub were detected. Also, many subs carry air defense missiles, so the disadvantage is not always with the sub. If the sub captain feels that detection and subsequent attack is imminent, he may very well just take that helo out.
Did someone argue that UAV's cannot be used for ASW?
Yeah, in the same way a BB gun is good enough asset for boar hunting. After all, you COULD kill a boar with a BB gun.
I hear what you are saying, but my point is that in order for the 056 to have any real use as part of a networked ASW operation it needs to have some capability to either detect or attack a submarine at long range, if not both. In other words, it would either be a remoting sensing platform to help designate targets for other ASW platforms, or it would be a mini-arsenal ship to help provide firepower for remote sensing platforms. Since it lacks both a long range sensor and a long range weapon, its usefulness to an ASW operation is extremely limited. As a remote sensing platform, a 056 armed with a TAS would have to be closely paired with a ship that can prosecute an immediate attack on a track. Well why not just put a TAS on that ship in the first place (assuming it didn't have one already)? Add to that the fact that the 056 is not designed to keep up with a blue water fleet and your options for offboard weapons launchers decreases dramatically. As for mini-arsenal ships, a Type 022 loaded with 8 CY-X missiles would be a far more potent (and cheaper) mini-arsenal ship for littoral ASW, though I should note again that rocket-boosted torpedoes don't have nearly the reach of a torpedo-armed helicopter. Pairing a 056 stringing TAS with a 022 carrying CY-X missiles is a possibility that sounds more like a Rube Goldberg contraption than a viable solution to ASW.
But then this all gets back to my whole point about us fanboys asking this ship to do more than its designers intended for it to do.
