Destroyer development...
PLA Navy news, pics and videos
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
Chinese Northern Theater Fleet & Russian Pacific Fleet already meetup in Sea of Japan
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Type 22 missile boats were mass built from 2004 onward in anticipation of an upcoming Taiwan crisis (that DPP would win the election in 2008 and push for referendum for Taiwan independence). Over 80 boats were built. In the end, Ma Ying-jeou won the 2008 presidential election in Taiwan. Mainland China and Taiwan had probably the best eight-year period in their relationship in the last seventy years or so during Ma's two terms.
This time around, China should start another round of mass building of ships, this time LSTs, in anticipation of upcoming armed unification. They should build another 60-80 072As, for example.
Time to (sell?) retire them somehow in a few years? I don't see them playing any kind of big role in the wars that PRC is training for, and in addition they hog up precious PLAN capacity resources.
Would rather all that crew, money, maintenance, and organisation capacity go towards building and operating proper surface combatants
Type 22 missile boats are used to prevent the intervention of US carriers at that special time. Just an emergency measure.
After that, China began the fleet project. They know the US always support Taiwan independence and never obey one-china-policy. So China need a stronger navy to confront the US.
After that, China began the fleet project. They know the US always support Taiwan independence and never obey one-china-policy. So China need a stronger navy to confront the US.
It's interesting to see they have dusted off this boat type more recently, at least in the news. Now it's difficult to imagine what role they would play in the next Taiwan crisis. These are also very narrow-purpose ships. So not sure what they have in mind for them.
