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- Thread starter Jeff Head
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Any rumours recently about when work will start on 052D/055 successors? Saw some comments on weibo especially for the 9000t that construction may begin in the next few months.
We don't know.
Theoretically-speaking, the angled landing strips on both Liaoning and Shandong are wide enough to enable KJ-600 doing BAR operations. However, it's not just whether the KJ-600 is able to conduct STO operations onboard the STOBAR twins, but also whether both ships have sufficient deck spaces and necessary facilities to accommodate them are entirely different stories.
And so far, we haven't heard of any positive indications of KJ-600 making it onboard the STOBAR twins, so there's that.
R&D works on the next-generation successors to the major surface combatants (DDGs and FFGs) of the PLAN have been going on for quite some while by now.
As for the news/rumors of construction works being started - There has been claims of "movements" in Hudong-Zhonghua and Huangpu-Wenchong, where both shipyards are known for building FFGs for the PLAN. Whether those WIP warships are new 054B FFG units or belong to a brand-new FFG class remains to be seen.
Either way, you can refer to the Next-Generation DDG/FFG thread for more information.
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Can anyone explain why the PLAN didn't go straight to nuclear when building the 003? Forgive me, as I don't know anything about nuclear naval engineering. From my understanding, China has the capability to build nuclear reactors and a limited capability to manufacture nuclear submarines, is there a reason why planners decided to go for a diesel-electric flat top?
They probably didn't want to stack too many new technologies onto a single platform. It helps avoiding having a mess of a design like the Fords.
What exactly happened to the ford besides its EMALS not being able to accommodate F35s?
Well, take the ammo elevators (AWEs), for starters..
and the arresting wire system.
It is more complicated to design a naval reactor than a land based one. Plus the large civilian land based reactors will quickly pay for their own development.
The priority for nuclear naval reactors has been the submarine ones. But as can be seen by Linglong One the technology for carrier nuclear reactors is close to available.
The priority for nuclear naval reactors has been the submarine ones. But as can be seen by Linglong One the technology for carrier nuclear reactors is close to available.