PLAN Sovremenny DDG 136, 137, 138 & 139 Thread

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
PLA Navy's Sovremenny class destroyer modernization renovation, VLS just before the bridge?

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As expected, the PLAN is making what already are still very strong warships...even stronger and more relevant for the future.

If they upgrade all four to this standard, they will have created four very decent modern and capable vessels that will stay around beyond (IMHO) the 2030s.
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
8x universal VLS tubes?
I see 16 there just aft of the HHQ-10 mount, with another grouping of maybe 8 or 16 higher and further aft. That's probably 24 forward, with another 16 aft...total of 40 VLS cells on the Refti Sov.

More than on Type 054A.

You then have what looks like 8 YJ-12s and two gatling 20mm CIWS.

And they could use the 1130 there and have it perform better than the older AK-630...which is what I would expect.

Finally you have the HHQ-10, probably a 24 cell mount.

so these vessels are going to be appreciably better armed than the Type 054A/B frigates.

and you would expect so for a vessel with a total tonnage of well over 8,000 tons.
 
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Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
...one final note.

it will be interesting to see if te PLAN does a similar refit to tthe Type 052B vessels...which are, in essence the chinese rebuild of the Sovs.

They could add the VLS and the HHQ, and probably upgrade the CIWS and get the same result...which would them produce 6 similarly upgraded vessels.
 

Gloire_bb

Captain
Registered Member
As an armchair admiral, I question why they didn't replace the aft twin 130s with VLS or FL3000.
Simplest possible reasons(one and/or combined):

1. Outright counter-productive: If (and when) 956 and 956-EM will be transfered out of fleet destroyer formations(say, replaced with 052Ds) - 130mm guns for coastal formations will nevertheless remain unique to 4 Sovremenniy class DDGs.
Sure, destroyer squadrons will have plenty of them - but they have their own missions too.

2. Undesirable for certain types of missions: Sovs, with their twin separately controlled ak-130s, can very well appear to be the most capable large combatants in confined waters.

3. Not necessary, ship reaches desired levels for self-defence and missile capacity without sacrifices in dual-purpose artillery, and additional money brings better results for an overall capability of PLAN elsewhere.

4. Too expensive to justify for a meagre additional benefit. Ship capability level isn't just about its ammo storage(much like modern subs are about much more than just their average acoustic quietness).

All this against VLS fit. FL-3000.... replace gun with both AA, ASuW and Ground attack functions with quite specific air defense installation is neither right nor efficient if there are no pressing circumstances.
And don't remain weight difference - AK-130 is just many times heavier(in your case, far aft). You'll have to fight lots of ship-associated problems for questionable gain.
Finally, unlike AK-130 itself - adding the second mount to the same sector(in its IR-guided form at least) doesn't necessarily doubles number of targets per time. On the other hand, it's strange to improve one sector(rear) without further updating another.
 

Lethe

Captain
Are the 18-cell or 24-cell HQ-10 variants even fitted to any PLAN warships? I've only seen the 8-cell variant.
 
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