Nobody really knows.How many SSN and SSBN has China commissioned in 2010-2020?
Is China undergoing a pause in shipbuilding right now? If so for what reason? And is this pause historically precedented?
The reason I ask is because the Chinese language Wikipedia profiles for the Type 052D and 055 show no new hulls being produced beyond what has already been launched, namely 052D #25, which launched on 08/30/20, and 055 #8, which launched on the same day.
Is China undergoing a pause in shipbuilding right now? If so for what reason? And is this pause historically precedented?
The reason I ask is because the Chinese language Wikipedia profiles for the Type 052D and 055 show no new hulls being produced beyond what has already been launched, namely 052D #25, which launched on 08/30/20, and 055 #8, which launched on the same day.
A question on this article:
The article states that the new sheds could allow for 4 submarines to be constructed simultaneously.
The first shed is about 140 meters wide and 290 meters deep, measured in Google Earth. It seems to have six groups of rails. Each group of rails has a sliding door that is about 20 meters wide. According to Wikipedia, Chinese nuclear submarines have beams of 11m to 12.5m and lengths of 110m to 135m. If submarine dimensions remain similar, the shed seems to have room for 12 construction slots.
The second shed seems to be about 2/3 of the first shed in terms of width, so it should have 8 construction slots.
Even if dimensions of new nuclear submarines are very large, the two sheds still seem to be divided into 5 distinct sections, so there should be at least 5 slots.
How did the article reach the number 4? Does submarine construction require more space?
There seems to have been a huge burst of construction of destroyers and cruisers recently that are now being fitted out. Once those become operational it will lead to a substantial increase of both operational capabilities and available ships.
It might be China is in the process of designing new ships or this might be a matter of state priorities. AFAIK the current shipbuilding boom predates Xi's rise to power and he might have a different focus. The carrier program still seems to be going on as scheduled.
It does make one wonder where the resources are being channeled though.
A question on this article:
The article states that the new sheds could allow for 4 submarines to be constructed simultaneously.
The first shed is about 140 meters wide and 290 meters deep, measured in Google Earth. It seems to have six groups of rails. Each group of rails has a sliding door that is about 20 meters wide. According to Wikipedia, Chinese nuclear submarines have beams of 11m to 12.5m and lengths of 110m to 135m. If submarine dimensions remain similar, the shed seems to have room for 12 construction slots.
The second shed seems to be about 2/3 of the first shed in terms of width, so it should have 8 construction slots.
Even if dimensions of new nuclear submarines are very large, the two sheds still seem to be divided into 5 distinct sections, so there should be at least 5 slots.
How did the article reach the number 4? Does submarine construction require more space?
4-5 ssbns and 4-5 ssns. Roughly speaking.How many SSN and SSBN has China commissioned in 2010-2020?