PLA Navy news, pics and videos

ACuriousPLAFan

Brigadier
Registered Member
What sort of research role will this ship be used for as it seems she doesn't have cat, bow ramp, arresting wires or even elevators?

Is all that deck space just for rotary/small propeller drones to take-off and land?

The stipulated width of the runway on the platform ship is 25 meters, meaning that even the Wing Loong-2 can easily fit within. The WL-2 certainly isn't a "small propeller drone".

As for the method of launch and recovery - Strapping small rockets onto the UAVs for RATO operations could be feasible if required. Otherwise - If China has STOL-capable UAVs like the Mojave, then it would be able to takeoff from the platform ship per usual.

In the meantime, landings could be accomplished by either having parachutes and/or more speed brakes installed on the UAVs that would enable slowing and stopping them immediately prior to and upon touchdown, or by setting up some kind of barrier on the flight deck that would catch the UAV during touchdown.

Both takeoffs and landings can also be assisted by sailing the platform ship into the wind during said procedures (when available), of course.

As for the elevators - There are few on Weibo who suggested that there are spaces provisioned onboard the platform ship, which would permit further modifications to install elevators onboard in the future if needed. Although admittedly, it's not exactly a must have for such a platform ship, as her roles are expect to differ significantly from proper flat-deck warships (i.e. as a research and test platform instead of a war-fighting platform).
 
Last edited:

ACuriousPLAFan

Brigadier
Registered Member
I've made two tables with the rectified figures regarding the VLS count of PLAN surface combatants.

Table 1 - Present, as of December 2024:

PLAN VLS @ 2024.png

Table 2 - Prospective 2030, based on visually confirmed units as of December 2024:

PLAN VLS @ 2030 (END-2024).png

Needless to say, the figures in Table 2 are certain to rise in the coming years as more new units are visually confirmed.
 
Last edited:

ACuriousPLAFan

Brigadier
Registered Member
Some updates on some of China's non-combatant vessels.

Per @水雷屋 on Weibo and @sugar_wsnbn on Twitter:
- 3x Type 927 integrated rescue ship spotted, with two of them having pennant numbers (#830 for the SSF and #841 for the NSF).
- 3x Type 923(?) integrated rescue ship spotted, with two of them having pennant numbers (#822 for the ESF and #840 for the NSF).
- 3x Type 920 hospital ship commissioned/fitting out, with 1x more said to be under construction.

The increase in the number of integrated rescue ships can be correlated with China's ongoing rapid expansion of her underwater fleet. Speaking of which, the Type 927 is also larger than the Type 923.


img-17350687778355115222908475358.jpg
 
Last edited:

para80

Junior Member
Registered Member
It looks reasonable to me but we cannot confirm many details for the more obscure/older designs. The fifteen claimed new LCUs for example (here listed as LCM)/ At least one Type 073 series LST was used as target ship but it was likely an older variant.
 

ACuriousPLAFan

Brigadier
Registered Member
Haven't seen anyone posting this photo on Weibo until I stumbled upon it on today. Posted two days ago by @健明彭 on Facebook.

Apparently this is the exact SSK (or SSK-N) that was claimed to have sank at pier in Wuchang by a certain US "expert" and the Pentagon?

I don't recall any other active SSKs beyond the 039C with a conning tower design like that. The presence of the X-tail matches what was seen on the satellite imagery last May/June as well.

This photo was alleged to have been taken recently during (one of) her sea trials.

Can anyone verify/confirm the photo's authenticity?

1000157309.jpg
 
Last edited:

Neurosmith

Junior Member
Registered Member
Haven't seen anyone posting this photo on Weibo until I stumbled upon it on today. Posted two days ago by @健明彭 on Facebook.

Apparently this is the exact SSK (or SSK-N) that was claimed to have sank at pier in Wuchang by a certain US "expert" and the Pentagon?

I don't recall any other active SSKs beyond the 039C with a coning tower design like that. The presence of the X-tail matches what was seen on the satellite imagery last May/June as well.

Can anyone verify/confirm the photo's authenticity?

View attachment 142137
Also saw this on X (or Reddit) and initially dismissed it as a reference image of another generic sub.

Interesting stuff.
 

para80

Junior Member
Registered Member
Yeah interesting. Worth filing, but wait and see. If we're lucky, we may get more shots in the same series. It doesnt look like an obvious forgery to me but then the quality is so low, its hard to say. Unless someone can find a Type 039C shot that matches this perspective and environment.
 
Top