051C DDG-116 Shijiazhuang at sea. Posted by @应用技术联合体 on Weibo.
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PLAN Type 051B/C Class Destroyers
- Thread starter supertran
- Start date
Notice the four blacked-out circles near the stern. Perhaps the four rotary-style VLS cell groups there have been removed and replaced with a helicopter hangar?
In the meantime, this development should also preclude any possibility of the 051C being retired early (if not also have their pennant numbers taken over by the newer 055 units, should they not receive any new pennant numbers), given how this DDG pair are actually younger than the two oldest 052C units by 1-2 years.
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Highly doubtful to be true, unless she is either being modified into a weapons testing and evaluation ship, or becomes a floating BMD platform that guards Beijing (but without the necessary radars and rely solely on integrated network datalinks from other assets for guidance).
I had the same thought. The Sovrememennys are also following the same path. The PLAN seems to be turning all these older ships into 054A equivalents, but with YJ-12s, more or less.
Since 051C is already designed around 30N6E and tall VLS, replacing it with equivalent probably makes sense.
Standardizing the sensor and AAW suites of the non-"aegis type" destroyers (i.e.: 055, 052D, 052C), and the destroyers produced post the original 052 pair, with what is essentially a 054A level kit, makes a bit of sense.
The four Sovremennys, two 052Bs, two 051Cs, one 051B, basically end up as uber 054As with moderately enhanced anti surface capabilities, greater range/endurance, and so on.
Depending on the size of the surface combatant fleet the PLAN ultimately want, and depending on how the pace that they produce new destroyers at (not just 055 and 052D, but also the expected next generation of large and medium destroyers), I wouldn't be surprised if the MLUs for these ships is also part of a desire to enable them to be in a more "mothball-able"/reserve-fleet condition than their pre-MLU state.
Very surprised if PLAN would like to put serious efforts to upgrade the two 051Cs...