054B/new generation frigate

[Phantom Chuck]

Well, stern is the opposite end of the ship. The bow may be more sharply raked but that is not making big difference. Nobody will put a bow anchor if the bulb is significantly protruding. BTW, 055 side anchor is further forward than 054B.

Stem, not stern. Stem is the sharp cutting edge of the bow.

055 has a stem anchor, and it has a somewhat protruding bulb. The rake of the stem allows the stem anchor to drop clear of the bulb.

055’s port side anchor is on the tip of a protruding hawsepipe. The extension of the hawsepipe outside the hull on the 055 holds the stowed anchor far enough away from the hull side to allow it to also drop clear of the bulb.



There are drawbacks to using extended hawsepipe. For example. It is a major source of adverse spray formation when the ship is going into a head sea, which makes the forward part of the ship more wet. This is why many warships stow their anchors in recesses on hull sides to reduce the anchor’s role is spray formation in heavy seas. An exposed anchor is also not very good for radar signature reduction.

that may be why 054B did not adopt the 055 solution of stowing port anchor on the tip of an extended hawsepipe, but instead repositioned its starboard farther back along the hull and covered it with a signature reduction cover.

 

[snake65]

It has been already noted previously that sonar bulbs are not protracting forward that much rather downward. Russian 20380 corvette is a good illustration.

 

[by78]

054B in underway replenishment.

 

[by78]

Two nice magazine scans.

 

[by78]

A magazine scan.

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

Updates on the subsequent 054B FFG units from SOYO on Weibo.

IF there is a tender for yet another new batch of 054B FFGs which appears in the first-half of 2026, then the total number of 054B FFGs could reach double digits.

(Words bolded and/or underlined to avoid misunderstandings)

飞机场的摩羯座: Is there any sign of the 3rd ship?

SOYO: The arrangement has already reach the 5th ship (overall)

飞机场的摩羯座: Looks like the customer (i.e. PLAN) is still satisfied (with the 054B FFGs)

(For note: The current highest claimed overall eventual number of the 054B FFGs stands at 6.)

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

豫章儿, quote-posting @somePLAOSINT's Twitter post of jeering the USN's decision to cancel the Constellation FFGs: Is this even a "way" to win? China only built two 054B FFGs

Cute Orca, quote-posting: @SOYO, this doesn't seem to be the case, right?

SOYO on Weibo: The most optimistic scenario would be the 3rd until 6th 054B FFGs being launched within the next year (2026)

(It should be noted that 豫章儿 might not have understood the figurative meaning of @somePLAOSINT's Twitter post in his Weibo post.)



Well, if all the four ships are in the various advanced stages of hull module construction across both Hudong-Zhonghua and Huangpu-Wenchong by the time 2026 rolls around, then this scenario should be totally plausible.

Also, if anything - China's two 054B FFGs are already sailing on the seas and in active service with the PLAN, whereas the only two Constellation FFGs are still stuck inside the shipyard and with the first unit barely 12% complete.

 

[MiraiAAA]

054B is an escort ship, you don't want to pack your escorts with that much firepower. The PLAN surface fleet is already very firepower oriented compared to other modern navies.

If the PLAN does in fact pursue a successor frigate series to the 054B after just 6 ships, I hope the only differences are related to propulsion, power generation/management, and perhaps greater automation. Or maybe an entirely new novel hull design. The weapons load out and sensor outfit is fine as is.

Retaining two VLS variants with similar functionality is rather peculiar. I would expect the next generation of frigates to adopt the same VLS configuration as the destroyers.

 

[Tomboy]

(It should be noted that 豫章儿 might not have understood the figurative meaning of @somePLAOSINT's Twitter post in his Weibo post.)

View attachment 165307

Well, if all the four ships are in the various advanced stages of hull module construction across both Hudong-Zhonghua and Huangpu-Wenchong by the time 2026 rolls around, then this scenario should be totally plausible.

Also, if anything - China's two 054B FFGs are already sailing on the seas and in active service with the PLAN, whereas the only two Constellation FFGs are still stuck inside the shipyard and with the first unit barely 12% complete.

I wouldn't say it's comparable, Constellation is a far more ambitious design than 054Bs.

 

[AndrewS]

I wouldn't say it's comparable, Constellation is a far more ambitious design than 054Bs.

Constellation wasn't supposed to be ambitious, and was supposed to be based on the proven FREMM design.

But somehow only 15% of the original FREMM design was left