The 901 AOE-901 Hulunhu is conducting an underway replenishment exercise with a 054A FFG, with a 054B FFG following astern. Posted by @欧阳振我86468 on Weibo.
PLAN Fleet supply vessels
- Thread starter delft
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According to 伏尔戈星图, there is a second hull of the large supply ship.
I don't see how its going to be a "fast" supply ship or keep up with the carrier group if it still shares the same powerplant as 901 despite being likely well over 50 percent larger in displacement. 901 wasn't exactly overpowered by any metric, it could do around 23kn at flank which is reasonable for a ship of the class but it isn't anything impressive.
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Perhaps what they meant was that it still uses gas turbines instead of IEPS; as in, the same type of powerplant instead of literally the same one.
Thing is, 901 is diesel only. Don't bother with the English wiki on this, it's basically completely wrong.
I find it doubtful that this ship which will be 50% heavier in displacement will have literally the exact same powerplant as 901. It's possible they meant that it would still use diesel engines, or it's possible they are just speculating themselves.
As for fast combat support ships, the use of diesels themselves isn't inherently incompatible with the role. The Supply class is often cited with a speed of 25kn (gas turbine powered), but even that is a fair bit slower than what a proper aircraft carrier is capable of.
While the Tide class is called a fast fleet tanker and has a top speed of 20kn and the primary replenishment ship of the RN's carrier fleet.
So mileage for the meaning may vary.
Don't place so much weight on such a remark when they themselves are guessing. The important part is the second hull, and maybe the "901A" part to a lesser extent.
I was using ODIN actually, but I guess that goes to show it's not a particularly great source either.
The principal problem with diesels for "fast" supply ships is that their economical cruise is substantially lower than that of a GT-powered ship. Yes, they can go up to a certain speed, but they like to have a drink then too (and the machinery isnt suitable for sustained heavy loads). That said, diesel engine technology has improved over the years too, so modern hulls have higher cruise regimes than older units.
For the Type 901s it would make sense to have relatively modern diesel engines for their purpose as "fast" replenishment ships for the Kuznetsov-class carriers, considering the latter are not really intended to run extended times at high cruise. At least thats my reading. In that sense it would also be logical to require a new generation of more capable AOEs to support the conceivably faster/longer legged future nuclear fleet of carriers.
All just my musings.
For the Type 901s it would make sense to have relatively modern diesel engines for their purpose as "fast" replenishment ships for the Kuznetsov-class carriers, considering the latter are not really intended to run extended times at high cruise. At least thats my reading. In that sense it would also be logical to require a new generation of more capable AOEs to support the conceivably faster/longer legged future nuclear fleet of carriers.
All just my musings.
There shouldn't be much difference in economical cruise speed (say 20 knots) and fuel consumption between diesels and gas turbines for an AOE.
The issue is maximum speed, because going at 26 knots would require about double the power and fuel consumption. You can't get some this, so economical speed is always slower.
Aircraft carriers spend a lot of time at maximum speed (26+ knots) and everyone else has to keep up.
But if you have a slower AOE which is permanently escorted by a Frigate, then the lower speed isn't an issue.