Does the Chinese navy have Z-10 helis?
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- Thread starter Jeff Head
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Definitely not for the open seas, but they certainly trained together during Amphibious Exercises. One can expect them to be deployed from ships in landing operations.
I have a question about the Type 072 (Yukan class ) LST.
I note that two of the class have recently been retired.
The remaining ship, CNS Wufeng Shan (928) has been modified with a helideck added aft
and, on the foredeck a mast with a Type 517 Yagi array radar and data link antennae has been fitted.
Is this going to be used as some sort of early warning radar ship in the South China Sea?
Are we likely to see other older LST’s converted in a similar manner?
I note that two of the class have recently been retired.
The remaining ship, CNS Wufeng Shan (928) has been modified with a helideck added aft
and, on the foredeck a mast with a Type 517 Yagi array radar and data link antennae has been fitted.
Is this going to be used as some sort of early warning radar ship in the South China Sea?
Are we likely to see other older LST’s converted in a similar manner?
I'm not so sure, I think that the choice a Type 517 Yagi array radar and data link is a bit too much capability to be sticking on an old LST if it was simply a fleet-wide upgrade. I rather suspect that this is an inventive use for an old (but still usable) hull.
I don't think the ship is intended used as an LST anymore. Early warning radar ship sounds like it. Besides trying to spot for aircraft and stealthy objects, metric wave also has the potential for over the horizon. The PLAN certainly seems to like this radar so much its also fitted on the 053H3 and the Type 052 refits (Qingdao and Harbin). Take a note that the Type 054A/P might be fitted with the export version of it, which has more elements and is more closely spaced which indicates it uses a different frequency from the domestic version.
Datalink for this is probably the SATCOM on the deck which can relay the data to a satellite network.
Would be better to have a sharp picture of the ship. Its not likely the Type 517 is the only upgrade to this ship. Would be better to see in detail the ship's tower and superstructure to look for any ESM fittings that will act like passive radar for the ship.
Would be cool to see if the 517 array can be seen sharper, so you can if its the domestic one, same as the one used on the 052D or the export one, like that used on the F22P. If what you are seeing is the export version, then the ship might be testing a new version of the export 517.