It's about right. Cost is in weapons, radars (which a frigate has a lot more of) and the equipment needed to fill it up (helicopters, LCUs etc). The hull itself is pretty cheap, considering.
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075 LHD thread
- Thread starter nosh
- Start date
Relatively, the US cost ratio is 2:1. $2B for an LHA and $1B for a frigate.
That comparison is not applicable here. For reference, Thai navy's Type-071E program cost about $200M, whereas a 054A/P Frigate is assumed to cost in the ballpark of $300-350M.
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This is the 075 thread. 071 is half the size of 075 so sure, if you cut the size of the amphib in half from LHA to LPD, a 071 is comparable to a 054A. I assume you are not claiming 075 costs about the same as 071.
For example, a land based HQ-16 system for export costs around $90 Million
Of course this is the 075 thread. I think you need to read the post a little more carefully. I gave you for reference the export cost of 071 and 054A to get a ballpark about a 075 costing about as much as an FFG.
If 071 costs and a 054A/P costs it is prudent to assume that a 075 costs as much as a 054A, a little less or a little more. Do you understand now?
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If you really think you can build a 075 for $350M each, you should go to China, start a shipyard, makes oodles of money AND you will get an 8-1 (August-1st) medal too! If you don't understand the arithmetic operations I used below, let me know. I know a few 6-year olds.
The US$350M for a Type 054A was first estimated here:
IF you have read that article, you would know that the US$350M used USN components costs and included weaponry at US$84M and we know the Thais bought their VN-16s separately so that gets subtracted out and then let's just assume a 25,000+ ton ship's propulsion system costs more than a 4,000+ ton ship (both are Diesels), then you add US$20M for that plus another US$40M for the extra steel/plumbing/fixtures (at US$2K/ton of steel at 2015 price x 20K extra tons). Magically both classes now cost about $250M plus or minus the sales tax. Wiki also noted (without citation) that a 071 costs 1/3 of a San Antonio which puts the cost of a PLAN-version of the 071 at US$500M (see next paragraph). A USN LHA costs over US$3B so you can do the math what 1/3 of US$3B is (hint: it is magically 2X of US$500M) as the US LHA to LPD cost ratio is 2:1.
The French Mistral is about the same size as the 071. Russia is building two Project 23900 ships to replace the Mistrals. Their budget is $100B rubles which converts to about US$700M per ship. Egypt (Saudi) paid a discounted US$1B for a pair of Mistrals. The Italian Trieste (closest cousin to the 075) costs over US$1B just like American LHAs (i.e. 2X of U$500M). The Australian Canberra class cost AUD$1.5B each which also translate into US$500M. At 27K displacement, the Canberra is bigger than the Mistral but still much closer to 071 size than the 075. So the conclusion is that the international price for a 071-sized amphib is about US$500M. Using a PPP of 2+, US$200M for a PLAN-configured 071 looks reasonable. It is also entirely possible the Thai ship is built to commercial standards, not military like what a lot of navies are moving towards.
An LHA is a much more complex ship than an LPD. An LPD is just a bigger transport ship that can land 2-4 helicopters while an LHA is a capital ship with a full aviation component. You can tell the difference just by their pennant numbers and names (small rivers vs provinces). Unless the 075 is constructed using some secret super duper technology that cannot be applied to the 071 in the same shipyard, the cost ratios will be similar to the US. The cost of the 075 should be a bit more than twice that of the 071 or around US$500M ball park.
As all government procurement officials know (but seems like you do not), you never want the lowest cost bidder. Second highest bid usually wins contracts as per Auction/Game Theory. Second thought, you better not start your shipyard in China. PLAN not dumb enough to buy your Yiwu quality LHAs.
