054/A FFG Thread II

They really are building 20 more.
It feels waste especially if they are not significant improvements from the original 30 batch. They might be stuck with 50 inferior vessels in the end when compared to their 054B/057

Not if the role and mission profile of the future frigate has evolved to the point where it is no longer suitable as a general purpose frigate. They may simply not have a need for that many hulls of the future frigate, and instead opt for more 054As to fill out the frigate force.
 

Tam

Brigadier
Registered Member
Progress update on one of the early 054 units. Some had hoped a forward VLS would be installed in the step-up structure just forward of the bridge, but that now likely will not be the case. The second image shows a turret ring being installed, most likely for a CIWS.

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I don't know if that is a turret ring for a CIWS. It can be the remnant of the ring the HQ-7 launcher was sitting on. The HQ-7 isn't going to come back however.

PLANS_Wenzhou_(FFG-526)_20151213.jpg


People don't seem to notice that the top of the 054 has now changed, because it looks much more like the 054A now. The 054 is quite different from the 054A at the top of the bridge. First you see this step or stand that is used for the Type 345 radar, which is the fire control and guidance radar for the HQ-7. That step is now removed. The Type 345 radar is not coming back. By extension, neither will the HQ-7. The second change is that the stand for the Type 344 gunnery radar has now been removed. The stand is there to clear the Type 344 over the Type 345. Now that the Type 345 is gone, the ship removed the stand so the gunnery radar has been lowered.

See this vs.

Screenshot 2020-12-22 at 9.31.57 AM.png

vs this.

Screenshot 2020-12-22 at 9.33.19 AM.png


The question is now whether the Type 344 radar will be retained. If the 344 radar is retained, so will the 100mm gun. But if they changed it to a Type 347G radar or a Type 349 --- the difference is the size and the shape of the dome face, then the gun will be a 76mm.

At the back, they retained the stand for the rear facing Type 347G radar.

Screenshot 2020-12-22 at 9.41.52 AM.png


The 054A doesn't have this stand at the rear. The 054A/P does however, but it is for the metric wave radar they put. On the 054's case, this stand is for the Type 347G gunnery radar, which is used for the AK-630 turrets at the back of the ship.

Screenshot 2020-12-22 at 10.00.20 AM.png

At this point, you have two options here, with one option having two suboptions.

The first option is that they are retaining the Type 347G radar, with the first suboption being keeping the four AK-630 guns. The second suboption is that they will the type 730B instead, which is a Type 730 CIWS without the radar and the EO on top of the turret. This is the set up used with the 053H3 refit and the F22P frigate. Maybe instead of the 730B, you may have something like a "1130B" instead, that is, two 1130 CIWS turret only without the local radar and EO on top of the turrets.

The second option is that they put a metric wave radar on this stand, and used more conventional CIWS, that is the CIWS having their local radar and CIWS on top of the turret housing.

My hunch on this is that they will take first option with the first suboption. They will retain the gunnery radar and the four AK-630. But with a twist. Instead of the Type 347G radar, they may use the Type 349 gunnery radar instead. The physical difference between the Type 347 and the Type 349 is small, they seem identical, except the 349 has a flat face instead of a cone dome. The 349 is used on the Type 071 as the gunnery radar for the AK-630s in that ship, as well as for the DDG 139 and 137 refits, for fire control of the AK-630s there.

I do not see the stands for the Type 366-2 being added to the side of the funnel, so this means the ship ain't going to have the Type 366 radar added on top of the bridge.

From here, it looks the refit will be a bit more conservative and isn't going to change much from the previous. I won't be surprised they may put an HQ-10 launcher at the front, maybe the 24 launcher version.

I only see one minor change. The circular SATCOM used to be more aft of the gunnery radar stand has been moved forward. Maybe there is less interference and more clearance that way.
 

by78

General
I don't know if that is a turret ring for a CIWS. It can be the remnant of the ring the HQ-7 launcher was sitting on. The HQ-7 isn't going to come back however.


The image below from months earlier makes me think the turret ring is newly installed. They will likely install the same missile CIWS found on 056 or a gun CIWS. Probably a gun CIWS, and maybe install the point defense missiles aft of the ship for greater coverage.

50498372508_795c3094a6_k.jpg
 

Tam

Brigadier
Registered Member
The image below from months earlier makes me think the turret ring is newly installed. They will likely install the same missile CIWS found on 056 or a gun CIWS. Probably a gun CIWS, and maybe install the point defense missiles aft of the ship for greater coverage.

50498372508_795c3094a6_k.jpg

This ship however is 526 not 525. 525 retained her pennant marking, or at least hasn't been removed yet for repainting. Another is that the location is different, with 525 still in a wharf while 526 is in the drydock. 526 is in a more advanced stage of her refit.

I think they will put an HQ-10 launcher, maybe the heavier 24 missile launcher, to balance off the weight that was removed with the HQ-7.

The stand on the rear says they may retain the gunnery radar there and by extension, the four AK-630 CIWS or switch to the 730B.
 

Tam

Brigadier
Registered Member
I finally found another picture of 525. It does seem they were working on that stand, so the ring or stand there might be new.

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Looking at the right of the picture, at this point of the photograph, they already chopped off the stand for the Type 345 radar, but the stand for the 344 is still there. As we have seen that will also be removed.


Found other pictures in relation to 515 Bizhou and the CEC panels it was testing. Looks to me they are gone. The test mission is done, maybe long time ago, and the remnant has been removed. There might be something else over there but needs a close up.




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Tam

Brigadier
Registered Member
This picture of 568 puts this at the 2nd Destroyer Division and the Type 071 on the background puts this at Zhanjiang. Right behind is a non pennant Type 052DL in late stage trials, likely the future 162 Nanning. Second time we have a photo of this destroyer but obscured by another ship in the foreground. The first time it was with 167 Shenzhen.

Via @子龙99_172 from Weibo and thanks to the PDF.

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Tam

Brigadier
Registered Member
Our old buddy here, 529, one of the ships that have this skirted array beneath the Type 382 Sea Eagle, exercising with a couple of destroyers, 136 and possibly either 138 or 139.

Via @央广军事 from Weibo and thanks to LKJ86 and the PDF.


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xyqq

Junior Member
Registered Member
One of the two 054A Block 1 frigates assigned to the East Sea Fleet, 529 Zhoushan sailed together with Project 956 Sovremenny DDG-136 Hangzhou and DDG-138 Taizhou. The same picture was posted above by Tam, but the original note on ChinaMil.com clarifies that the other DDG is 138.

136-138-529.jpg

More importantly, this set of pictures were taken by the same photographer, which implies that the following was taken on another 054 Frigate Block 1 assigned to the East Sea Fleet, 530 Xuzhou:

530-rocket.jpg

And this should be the combat information center of 530 Xuzhou as well:

530-command.jpg
 
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