Corvette/Light frigate thread (056A, sub-4000t FFLs)

[RTB74]

Thai nationalists are very concerned about this ship, dissatisfied with China, and have proposed anti-China measures, such as halting Falcon Strike training, stopping the purchase of Chinese weapons, selling Type 071 ships, and disbanding the S26T to acquire German or Swedish submarines

 

[pkj]

It's indeed for Cambodia and as an aid. In fact, it's named Type 056C.

There is also a second ship that is half done.

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These two 056c corvette will be donated to Cambodia. Presumaby they will join the two 056 already handed over to Cambodia at the Ream Naval Base.

These four will enable Cambodia to have true brown-water capabilities.....and solidify China's foothold at Ream.

 

[00CuriousObserver]

These two 056c corvette will be donated to Cambodia. Presumaby they will join the two 056 already handed over to Cambodia at the Ream Naval Base.

These four will enable Cambodia to have true brown-water capabilities.....and solidify China's foothold at Ream.

There is nothing that indicates the two existing 056As at Ream belong to Cambodia (iirc, the ships also rotated at some point, further indicating they don't belong to Cambodia). Ayi also previously mentioned that they're there as a de facto PLAN deployment.

According to Ayi, the 056As weren't a gift or sale to Cambodia; those were just excuses and they're actually de facto deployments to the base.

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Also, Cambodia has some restrictions in its constitution with regards to foreign troops on its soil. Note the difference between the name of this base and the one in Djibouti: 中国人民解放军驻吉布提保障基地 vs 中柬云壤港联合保障和训练中心 -- People's Liberation Army Support Base in Djibouti vs China-Cambodia Ream Port Joint Support and Training Center.

 

[no_name]

Deleted off-topic.

 

[Wrought]

There is nothing that indicates the two existing 056As at Ream belong to Cambodia (iirc, the ships also rotated at some point, further indicating they don't belong to Cambodia). Ayi also previously mentioned that they're there as a de facto PLAN deployment.

Yes, they've indeed been rotated regularly. Perhaps the Cambodians used their tour to request appropriate changes to their 056C order.

Tea Banh and other Cambodian military officials also visited the PLAN corvettes docked at the base’s new pier, the Panzhihua (621) and Guangyuan (649). While two Type-056A corvettes have been stationed at Ream continuously since December 2023, the ships have rotated at least two times since then. The original pair of Wenshan (623) and Bazhong (625) were

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by the Aba (630) and Tianmen (631), which were likely replaced by the Panzhihua and Guangyuan in February, when

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the presence of two additional corvettes at Ream in satellite imagery.

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[00CuriousObserver]

A nice analysis of the 056C, with a comparison to the 056A. Source:

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Based on satellite imagery measurements of the Type 056C, the ship’s length is about 95 meters—roughly 5–6 meters longer than the Type 056. Some observers, drawing on satellite photos and videos, suggest that the extra 6 meters were added to accommodate a new secondary gun position. However, by overlaying the Type 056C with a Type 056A built at the same shipyard—using the similarly sized funnel section as a reference (see figs. 1–4)—we can see that the space for the secondary gun platform actually comes from shortening the forward superstructure, while the extended hull allowed the H/PJ-26 76 mm naval gun to be moved forward and created room for the FQF-3200 ASROC launcher and its ammunition magazine.

Because of the hull extension, the 056C also improves blue-water performance: the hull’s chine line rises toward the bow earlier, giving the foredeck greater freeboard and a higher H/PJ-26 gun mount. In overhead view, the 056C’s foredeck area is larger than that of the 056A, and its bow planform appears more rounded (fig. 5).

From a head-on comparison, the 056C’s bridge wings have been enclosed and integrated into the bridge itself (fig. 6)—a feature also seen on the Type 051C destroyer and Type 054B frigate, possibly hinting at the future direction of PLAN surface-ship design.

Examining the mid-section (figs. 7–8), the 056C funnel differs from earlier 056 variants: the 056A has a diagonally cut hood top, whereas the 056C’s hood is level and lower, exposing the exhaust outlets for the main and auxiliary engines. The 056C funnel also has more and larger louver panels. The small mast behind the 056A funnel—used for IFF antennas and an aft navigation radar—has been removed, and the PLAN’s strategic SATCOM antenna has been replaced by a smaller maritime satellite dish. Vent-cover shapes and positions on both sides of the hull have also changed.

The stern changes are particularly interesting. The port-side opening beneath the 056A helicopter deck for launching a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) has been removed; the towed-sonar system there has been replaced by a launch ramp door for the RHIB (figs. 7–8). In satellite imagery of the second hull section under construction on shore (fig. 9), the stern clearly includes space for an RHIB launch ramp. This configuration allows the 056C to deploy and recover RHIBs while underway and in rougher seas—making it far better suited to Cambodia than a towed sonar system, which remains a highly classified PLAN asset. Because of Cambodia’s operating conditions, speculation that this ramp might be used for deploying unmanned surface vessels appears unlikely.

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