055 Large Destroyer Thread II
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
According to lyman2003 on Weibo: The latest information on the procurement of new PLAN warships at the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard has just been received.
It is said that the "Number 9 Ship" (9号船) could be the first ship of the 2nd batch Type 055 DDG, and it is estimated that the ship could be launched by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
On the other hand, some say there is a Type 055 DDG ship module at the rear?
It is said that the "Number 9 Ship" (9号船) could be the first ship of the 2nd batch Type 055 DDG, and it is estimated that the ship could be launched by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
On the other hand, some say there is a Type 055 DDG ship module at the rear?
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Will the 2nd batch of Type 055 destroyers have any upgrades?
Anyways...
Back in the year 1964, the US Navy took a small fleet of 3 nuclear powered ships ( 2 cruisers and 1 carrier ) on an around the world cruise without refueling. This was called Operation Sea Orbit. It was meant to advertise the capacity of nuclear propulsion, and possibly to make a political statement.
I wonder if the PLA Navy will ever execute its own Operation Sea Orbit? If it does happen, maybe 10 years from now.
The idea of nuclear powered cruisers coming back into style may seem unlikely, but then again stranger things have happened. Nobody 10 years ago was predicting that China was going to build a carrier with an electromagnetic catapult, its own space station, and self driving cars.
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
it would be a good call but China doesnt have that kind of expansionist ideology and hence its beyond the scope of Chinese Navy to carry out such a mission
not because they cant but because they dont want to
Estimations from this satellite photograph taken at Jiangnan Shipyard 2 months ago seems to indicate a new destroyer superstructure module with possibly larger radar sets. Apparently this is a module for a modified 055, but we'll have to wait and see.
The only warships currently in PLAN that are nuclear powered are 091 & 093 SSNs and 092 & 094 SSBNs.
Besides, there are key reasons on why the US Navy eventually scaled back equipping marine nuclear reactors from destroyers and cruisers to only aircraft carriers. Marine nuclear reactors are:
1. Expensive to built, operate and maintain;
2. Requires highly educated and skilled crew to operate and maintain; and
3. Involves a lot of complicated and challenging procedures in refueling and disposing of the nuclear fuel waste.
Hence, unless China manages to improve and advance marine nuclear propulsion technology into something that is much cheaper, simpler and less demanding to built & operate, plus needing to deal with less to none related complications, then I don't see how China would go the nuclear way for her warships other than future CVNs, SSNs and SSBNs for at least the foreseeable decades.
Therefore, Operation Sea Orbit is a no go for China, because China at present does not have nuclear-powered surface warships to do so.
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