plawolf
Lieutenant General
re: PLAN Type 071 LPD & its Landing Craft
I think the choice of AK630 might have something to do with the design of the 071. If you consider where the AKs are placed, its hard to think how you could replace them with a pair of 730/1030 without leaving obvious blind spots and loosing the benefits if doubling up on targets through a wide range of angles. Yet replacing the AK630s one-for-one with Type 730s would simply be excessive.
The problem is the side funnel designs, which blocks LOS, and the only way around that is to put CIWS on both sides of the funnel, which is precisely what they have done with the AKs. With the current layout, a missile approaching from most directions could be engaged by a pair of AKs. Individually, the Type 730 might outperform AK630s, but its hard to argue that a single Type 730 would beat a pair of AK630s.
I think in term of gun based CIWS, the 071s feels like it could have done with the AK630s spread out a bit more, so the front pair could engage targets coming at the front of the ship more directly. They could also do with is an additional FN3000 launcher or two. Other improvements could be a bigger main gun, or even ditching the gun altogether and putting in as many of the new CCL VLS cells as they can fit. Even if they keep the gun, it feels like they could move it forwards some and given themselves enough space behind it for a few quad cells of the new VLS.
I think the choice of AK630 might have something to do with the design of the 071. If you consider where the AKs are placed, its hard to think how you could replace them with a pair of 730/1030 without leaving obvious blind spots and loosing the benefits if doubling up on targets through a wide range of angles. Yet replacing the AK630s one-for-one with Type 730s would simply be excessive.
The problem is the side funnel designs, which blocks LOS, and the only way around that is to put CIWS on both sides of the funnel, which is precisely what they have done with the AKs. With the current layout, a missile approaching from most directions could be engaged by a pair of AKs. Individually, the Type 730 might outperform AK630s, but its hard to argue that a single Type 730 would beat a pair of AK630s.
I think in term of gun based CIWS, the 071s feels like it could have done with the AK630s spread out a bit more, so the front pair could engage targets coming at the front of the ship more directly. They could also do with is an additional FN3000 launcher or two. Other improvements could be a bigger main gun, or even ditching the gun altogether and putting in as many of the new CCL VLS cells as they can fit. Even if they keep the gun, it feels like they could move it forwards some and given themselves enough space behind it for a few quad cells of the new VLS.
