PLA Navy news, pics and videos
- Thread starter Jeff Head
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Are we sure this isn't some kind of movie prop? This is basically something you'd see out of a movie...
Ayi&Yankee have confirmed the legitimacy. They also said the purpose of this project is pretty wild.
Did they said anything about the purpose? My conventional thinking can only see this as a test ship for a wartime emergency concept to convert merchants to roughly similar configuration. I can't see PLAN converting many merchants in peacetime to this configuration.
I may not be an expert on naval equipment, but I do know the standards of "artists". The details of the equipment in the image far exceed the level expected in Chinese film industry.
Though, given how TEU containers are stacked on top of one another on container ships - Sheer volume doesn't really reflect much compared to the top surface area (i.e. number of container slots available in a 2D-plane) that is available for use, considering that all the VLS tubes, CIWS, radar & sensor systems and decoy launchers must be placed on the top of their respective TEU container stacks to enable operations.
Of course, more TEU capacity also means more power banks can be carried by the ship, which directly determines how long the employed systems on said ship can function.
I think the more important factor for consideration with such setups would be the absolute sheer number of platforms that have been made available for use by the PLAN in a wider/all-out war scenario, such that the proper warships of the PLAN can be made available for more pressing missions and/or locations.
Container ships typically can sail between 16-25 knots, though they most often sail in the lower-end/lower-half range of speeds for fuel efficiency (if not even lower in some cases).
There are also fast container ships that can sail very fast, such as the Mearsk B-class ships with ~4200 TEUs that can cruise at 29 knots and at speed of up to 37 knots. However, they are more expensive to operate, and they are only available in significantly low numbers.
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Interestingly enough, the famous ARMA/DCS war filmmaker @家有神兽 on Bilibili has actually introduced the containerized VLS tubes into his storyline, albiet being used by the Jai Hinds hidden inside a bulk carrier ship against PLAN warships in the Indian Ocean in his latest Sino-India war episode:
It certainly gives a vibe of "winning at any cost".
You would expect merchant traffic to dramatically decrease in the event of Reunification so many cargo ships would be available for requisition. The existence of this thing does feel like there is a time table already for Reunification.