The Russians have a bunch of below-deck and other unconventional hangars. Despite having experience with one of those designs on the Sovs, the PLAN has stuck with conventional hangars so far. I'd lean towards the PLAN not going with any sort of unconventional hangar unless there's a particular need for one.
Corvette/Light frigate thread (056A, sub-4000t FFLs)
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
I think some degree of interlink capability and thus interoperability is all but assured, but I don’t really understand point 3? why?
i do feel 022 were peak aesthetics however
To act as extra unexpected fire vectors with longer staying ability than air assets and free up ballistic missiles for high value targets.
PLAN is also building 30MW radars that can probably see all the way out to Guam. I think they have a clear idea of how each of their current and future planned platforms fits into the overall system.
So this is my guess:
It's a Chinese equivalent to the DDC/LUSV
Wartime missions
1. Acting as an offboard missile carrier (arsenal ship) with 16-32 UVLS cells. Datalinked to other vessels.
2. ASW-focused. A VDS and Towed Array take minimal space and you can put these on a platform of any size. A helicopter/aviation hanger can also be put on any platform. And when undertaking risky ASW operations, you want to use the smallest ship possible as it is also the cheapest and most expendable.
Peacetime missions
1. Patrolling around ECS and SCS, freeing up Frigates for other missions
---
That means the DDC propulsion setup has to be able to keep up with the Type-052D and Type-055, which the current Type-054 variants can't. It also means the DDC can keep up with an Aircraft Carrier and its escort Destroyers. A Chinese DDC also explains why we didn't see the propulsion setup change with the Type-054B.
When I look at the Chinese Navy, there's easily enough missions for 30+ Chinese DDCs which is enough to justify an entirely new ship-class. I also suspect final production numbers will be far higher than 30 ships.
NB. The previous CSBA concept was for 2 DDC for each AEGIS destroyer in a SAG.
It's a Chinese equivalent to the DDC/LUSV
Wartime missions
1. Acting as an offboard missile carrier (arsenal ship) with 16-32 UVLS cells. Datalinked to other vessels.
2. ASW-focused. A VDS and Towed Array take minimal space and you can put these on a platform of any size. A helicopter/aviation hanger can also be put on any platform. And when undertaking risky ASW operations, you want to use the smallest ship possible as it is also the cheapest and most expendable.
Peacetime missions
1. Patrolling around ECS and SCS, freeing up Frigates for other missions
---
That means the DDC propulsion setup has to be able to keep up with the Type-052D and Type-055, which the current Type-054 variants can't. It also means the DDC can keep up with an Aircraft Carrier and its escort Destroyers. A Chinese DDC also explains why we didn't see the propulsion setup change with the Type-054B.
When I look at the Chinese Navy, there's easily enough missions for 30+ Chinese DDCs which is enough to justify an entirely new ship-class. I also suspect final production numbers will be far higher than 30 ships.
NB. The previous CSBA concept was for 2 DDC for each AEGIS destroyer in a SAG.
It isn't just being a PLAN LCS. It's also there to sprint and chase down nuclear submarines, given that Australia is adding it's own in addition the US ones. Hence the Z-20 helicopter.
There's also a bit of inspiration from the Russian Navy where the Far East Fleet have often exercised with the PLAN, exposing the PLAN to the Project 20380/81/82 light frigate/heavy Corvette. These corvettes could operate in the high seas at high speed, able to go around the Japanese archipelago and reach Alaska. We know the ones stationed in the Baltic are able to deploy in the Indian Ocean.
The 022 lacks long range capability. The Independence class was able to go it's way from its home port in San Diego to patrolling and zipping in the South China Seas. So it's not just an LCS for home waters, but deployable to foreign waters.
It would be kind of inefficient to use HQ-9s to be directed like that. The idea of an arsenal ship is cost effectiveness and you need a large dedicated ship for that. The rest however I would agree or align with.
It would only make sense if it's limited VLS --- let's assume only 16 cells --- would have half fitted with quad packed SAMs and the other YJ-18 or it's variants. Or namely or both, a subsonic ASM with dual sensors and an ASW missile or flying torpedo.
It's likely that it will be fitted with high speed CEC and SATCOM, something the 022 is solely missing in both, and while the 056A does have modern SATCOM, the 056A lacks the high speed high throughput planar array CEC that's going to be the near future standard for PLAN ships. To provide for that, you need a mast tall enough and preferably integrated.
Getting for 022 to successfully coordinate you will likely need a 056A as a flotilla leader and as a communications router. You have to send the communications via satellite to the 056A then broadcast to the pack of 022s. Hence it's complicated. A ship large enough to house sufficient communications would greatly simplify things.
I think there are too many detailed hypotheses and speculations in a confident manner, that seems unwarranted given we don't have good clear imagery of the ship (even with the highest quality picture we have) nor multiple angles of it. We don't have details of its subsystems and we don't have any concrete rumours about it.
Over the years I've realized that one of the most important things about PLA watching when new information or imagery comes to light, avoiding too much speculation is actually better than freewheeling it.
Over the years I've realized that one of the most important things about PLA watching when new information or imagery comes to light, avoiding too much speculation is actually better than freewheeling it.
Arsenal ships need dedicated protection, and also would not be able to keep up with PLAN's high speed requirements, slowing other ships down. It's also a matter of having eggs in more baskets and option of more unexpected attack vectors. It will have to rely on speed and stealth to survive and get into position, fire off her salvo when the opportune time comes when cued, then retreat under the AA umbrella protection of larger ships like 055.
kwaigonegin
Colonel
To my untrained eye that is most certainly a UVLS which would potentially make this corvette punch way above it's weight class.
arsenal ship can be designes to achieve any necessary cruise or dash speeds that other ships can have....