054B/next generation frigate

Zichan said:

Interesting claim. Do you have one of these side by side comprising ?

I was of the impression that the 052D merely ended up with a larger draft and thereby as a consequence a larger waterline beam. That’s why people tend to say that the 052D hull design is essentially maxed out.

The benefit of dual hangars is the ability to keep helos to perform ASW patrol for much longer or to rapidly prosecute a suspected contact in tandem. Anyone who has played a sub sim will know how deadly ASW helos can be as unlike a ship they give very little warning time for evasive maneuvers.

The fact that Type 054B, Type 054A and Type 052D all have a single hangar tells me that PLAN foresees a different naval platform to play the principal role in airborne ASW (Type 075?).

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Sure, here's a satellite image with annotation:



You can also simply measure the length on the screen on any side-by-side pic, e.g. this one:



On every single comparison, 052D is wider by about 1m compared to 052C. The most specific information I found specified 052D as having a beam of 18.2m, which is 1.2m more than the 17m usually stated for 052C.

There is no change in length between 052D batches 1 & 2 compared to 052C, but as a result of the increase in width and new radars, cooling system and VLS, displacement is increased by about 500 tons or so.

Is this build time for the 54B accurate? I have doubts about this considering the source.

luosifen said:

Is this build time for the 54B accurate? I have doubts about this considering the source.

View attachment 118074

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It's not.

First, this twitter account is different from the original plaopsosint twitter account, they're different people.

Second, the 054B's construction is represented incorrectly, because the maker incorrectly believes that 054B at launch has its subsystems (weapons, sensors) actually fitted out and integrated, whereas in reality those systems are only structurally present at launch but are not actually integrated. 054B will need an additional year or so of proper fitting out to be ready for sea trials (which is where the 25DD at month 19 was at).

So for 054B to be compared "fairly" with something like 25DD/Asahi, the maker of the timeline needed to add something like an additional 12 months to the timeline.

I've been talking to the person who made the image, and these sentiments have been conveyed.

Gloire_bb said:

Type 31 type is definitely out of question, it's a basic peacetime Gulf-optimized 'colonial cruiser'. Not even a proper trade protection ship, as it poses literally zero problems to wartime commerce threats.

054B is far ahead in all sensors and its weapon suit.
For 31... imagine a half-commercial, 25kn/diesel hull with a sensor/weapon suite of 056(not 056A). Maybe UVLS for LACMs.

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I agree the 54B capabilities seem closer to a Type 45 than a Type 31 even if, superficially, it looks more like a Type 26.

aubzman said:

I agree the 54B capabilities seem closer to a Type 45 than a Type 31 even if, superficially, it looks more like a Type 26.

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Type 045 has no significant ASW capability; it's almost a pure air-warfare destroyer. The original design had space for 64 full-length Mk41 VLS cells, but in order to save money, it was only fitted with 48 Sylver A50 cells (i.e. shorter ones that can only fire medium-range missiles). The empty tank for the unfitted 16 VLS cells was instead used as a gym:



From 2026 onwards, 24 cells for Sea Ceptor (25-45km range) will be fitted in the unused VLS tank.

So while it is true that Type 45 is armed like a frigate, it has originally been designed for a similar loadout as the Type 052D destroyer. Type 45 does not even carry lightweight torpedoes, other than for its helicopters.

In contrast, Type 54B has been designed for a lighter armament from the get-go and has much more significant ASW capabilities than Type 45 with the H/SJG 311 towed array & variable depth sonar, Yu-8 ASROC and 2 x triple YU-11 torpedoes.

If the Type 054B is equipped with the 160km class ARH HQ-16FE and GaN AESA it would be substantially superior in anti-air warfare compared to the Type 45, and indeed all warships from Europe.

Scaffolding has been put up around the masts and superstructures.

Jason_ said:

If the Type 054B is equipped with the 160km class ARH HQ-16FE and GaN AESA it would be substantially superior in anti-air warfare compared to the Type 45, and indeed all warships from Europe.

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On the other hand, given the increasingly challenging aerial threats from enemy warplanes, AShMs and drones - I do hope that the 054B (and in fact, all major surface warships of the PLAN built in the 21st-century) are designed with sufficient empty spaces that can fit additional (U)VLS cells for more HHQ-9s or HHQ-16s, and/or HHQ-10 launchers later on...

Jason_ said:

If the Type 054B is equipped with the 160km class ARH HQ-16FE and GaN AESA it would be substantially superior in anti-air warfare compared to the Type 45, and indeed all warships from Europe.

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Alvaro de Bazan Class has 32x SM-2s and 64x ESSMs

Any idea how many 054B FFGs will be built in the first batch?