FFG 054/054A Thread

[DPRKPTboat]

http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/surface/maanshan054.asp

Accroding to this, both of these ships are in service. They are currently being evaluated in terms of cpabilities, but its not very clear. Can anyone confirm that both ships are in service? Or are they just acting as test platforms? And does anyone also have any info as to if more hull s are going to be built?

[Sczepan]

both ar in service - we 've seen a lot of pix in sea and naval base

[vincelee]

the first ship, at least, ran into propulsion problems.

[tphuang]

Originally Posted by vincelee

the first ship, at least, ran into propulsion problems.

they are probably both commissioned. But in general, you are going to have problems with the first of the series. 052Cs are still facing problems right now, that's why we haven't seen more of them. 054As are supposedly getting built somewhere, let's see it when it comes out.

[vincelee]

do you know just why kind of problems the 52C is facing? No one on CDF can be sure, some people are tossing around the idea of an inefficient cooling system.

[MIGleader]

I'm going to bet it's with the operation of the new combat system. Maybe theres bugs in it, system over heats, not performing to expectations...

The 54 is simply old weapons on a newer hull design, so aside from the engine, there was not much to test. Im guessing thats the reason for the fast apearance fo the 54As.

[DPRKUnderground]

This ship lacks a SAM like almost every other Chinese frigate. They really need a new SAM system on their ships.

[darth sidious]

Originally Posted by DPRKUnderground

This ship lacks a SAM like almost every other Chinese frigate. They really need a new SAM system on their ships.

I would call the Hq-7 a ok point defence sam but yes they reely should be working on a replacement

acording to kawa the HG-16 is already designed and will be fitted on the 054A

[DPRKUnderground]

Originally Posted by darth sidious

I would call the Hq-7 a ok point defence sam but yes they reely should be working on a replacement

acording to kawa the HG-16 is already designed and will be fitted on the 054A

Good! Because the Crotale isn't sufficient if you have a a battle group. The SM-2 is fitted on the Oliver Perry's and they have a 120km range! The PLAN needs a long-range SAM on their destroyers or the abililty to fit them on a frigate.

[MIGleader]

As an FFG, the Type 54 doesnt really need any long range air defence missles. Even the VLS Hq-16 is still estimated to only have a range of 30-40km. Remeber, FFGs are for inner layer protection. since there is not carrier for the 54 to protect, a shorter range SAM will do for self defence.

[Vlad Plasmius]

Could the HQ-9 be used or would 054 not be able to use it? Maybe they could make a downgraded version so that it can be most easily adapted to a frigate.

[vincelee]

downgraded version? This isn't an export business. Tor-M1/SA-9/HQ-17 is a SYSTEM, which includes the firecontrol radar and software arguments to the CIC. We are not talking about an S-300 class system, here, where you actually need a large base weight for stability, we're talking about a short range airdefense missile.

[adeptitus]

Originally Posted by DPRKPTboat

http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/surface/maanshan054.asp
Accroding to this, both of these ships are in service. They are currently being evaluated in terms of cpabilities, but its not very clear. Can anyone confirm that both ships are in service? Or are they just acting as test platforms? And does anyone also have any info as to if more hull s are going to be built?

I think a better answer is "yes" to both. The ships are in service and act as test platforms for new technology.

The PLAN ships were very out-dated by western standards a decade ago, so they're catching up by incorporating new systems. It's a fairly conservative approach of building new class of ships in pairs to evaluate the new technology and capability.

I think the PLAN planners realize these new ships are more "stop gap" measures to catch-up than mature platforms for mass/serial production. Some time in the future, when they have something that they're happy with, you'd prolly see a dozen ships of the same class being built.

[xihaoli]

Seeing the HQ-7 autoloader used on the 51b Luhai, and the bare space behind the launcher on the 54s. is there any chance that they may have an automatic reloader? Does anyone also have the speed of the reload speed on the 51b?

If china were to deploy an autoloader, the 54s could be fine with out vls all together. The close range HQ-7 would combine well with the Middle ranged HQ-9 or the S-300F

[tphuang]

I don't think the SAM of 054 is that big of a problem. I don't think 054 was ever designed for air defense. It was supposedly more of an ASW platform (well compared to other PLAN surface fleet that is). And remember, HQ-7 is all China has right now with close-in SAM, China doesn't have something that's compact and accurate as Barak. Once something like that does get developed, then you will see an upgrade in many Chinese surface vessels I guess.