The Chinese fleet - in the struggle for the title of the strongest
“An American destroyer on Saturday made a passage through the strait separating mainland China and the island of Taiwan. This was reported by the defense department in Taipei.”
(News at the end of February 2022)
For 70 years, a "watershed" of influence of the largest powers has been passing in the waters of the Taiwan Strait. The existing balance of power is regularly violated by US ships. China rebuffs the provocations, recalling its legal rights to own the "rebellious island". However, the interests and capabilities of the modern Chinese Navy extend far beyond Taiwanese waters.
“China has outstripped the United States in the number of warships”, a “third aircraft carrier” and “the most powerful destroyers in the world” are being built there. The media spare no effort on screaming headlines. The participants in the naval arms race themselves add intrigue. The US military does not hesitate to convince of the growing threat and openly admits its own impotence in front of the Chinese Navy.
Penetrating sincerity from those who are least able to tell the truth arouses obvious suspicion. Therefore, we will not rush to honor the “winners” and will try to assess the situation from the standpoint of numbers.
The path to creating the "strongest navy in the world" will require considerable effort
The fleet is primarily ships. To enter the first line, the Chinese will need to close the gap with the American fleet in the number of pennants of the 1st rank. This means the construction of 90-100 missile destroyers (cruisers), with the functions of zonal air defense / missile defense and a strike potential comparable to enemy ships.
Already today, the Chinese Navy has units that surpass any similar projects of Western countries. The pride of the Chinese fleet, six of the most modern destroyers "Type 055" or by the name of the lead one - the "Nanchang" type.
The other 25 destroyers belong to the "short" and "long" modifications of the previous project "Type 052D". With an outward resemblance to the Nanchang, they are distinguished by half the composition of weapons (64 UVP cells) and a very strange choice of radar equipment for modern ships.
The remaining 17 destroyers are representatives of even earlier projects. While nominally in the same class as the newest Nanchang, they lack many of the combat qualities required for high-ranking units.
We confine ourselves to a neutral conclusion. Of the fifty Chinese destroyers, some are superior to American ships of a similar class. The rest are inferior to one degree or another.
Just a few words about the situation overseas. Due to the frequent renewal of the ship composition and the planned write-off procedure for several Ticonderogs, it is difficult to establish the exact number of destroyers (cruisers) in the US Navy. A cautious estimate will be "about 90 ships" - carriers of the Aegis missile defense system.
Everyone is waiting for the right time to come. And time is just running out
The Internet is filled with images of Chinese shipyards, where rows of destroyers lined up at the outfitting walls. The outlines of others appear on stocks through the web of forests. Huge power. But concrete figures indicate that the pace of work is not fast enough to bring the PRC Navy closer to the goal.
In the next 10 years, China's adversary also intends to replenish its fleet with 20 destroyer-class ships belonging to the second and third sub-series of the Burke project. Of which only seven units have been laid so far. Another one is on sea trials. Taking into account the presented intentions to lay down the destroyers of the next DDG (X) project, the current Chinese program to create 16 Type 055 destroyers no longer looks like a solution that can radically change the balance of power.
There is another important point - the presence of about 40 frigates in the Chinese Navy. In the near future, their number may reach fifty.
The Chinese concept of "frigate" differs markedly from that adopted in other fleets. So, according to the value of the standard displacement, the Type 054A is almost a thousand tons inferior to the Russian frigate of project 22350 (Admiral Gorshkov). But the main thing is its technical appearance, which contains far from the most modern solutions.
Fifty frigates is an impressive grouping of forces capable of providing a presence in many areas of the oceans at once. On the other hand, in the marine stories there were battles in which a single capital ship was more important than a dozen "babies" who attacked it.
As time passed, everything fell into place. And instead of bare numbers (the number of barrels), more elegant technical patterns appeared.
The difference in combat value between frigates and 10-ton destroyers also has its hidden aspects. Less freeboard. More application restrictions weapons depending on the state of the sea. A displacement of 3 tons does not allow placing massive antenna devices at the required height. It is necessary to look for compromises in everything.
When talking about frigates, it must be taken into account that China's enemy also has a group of "small surface combatants" (small surface combatants). The concept of "small" in American means the lower value of the displacement of 2 tons. Excluding decommissioned LCS, 500 representatives of this class remain in service. In order to increase the number of "light forces of the fleet" in the near future, it is planned to build 20 coastal warships (LCS) and a dozen frigates of the FFG-11 type. The latter is twice the displacement of Chinese ships of a similar class. In fact, destroyers with a simplified composition of weapons.
At this point it is worth stopping and taking stock. The Chinese Navy and the US Navy have approximately the same size surface fleet, designed for operations in the far sea zone. Differences in the characteristics of ships can only manifest themselves in a combat situation.
Now I propose to turn to a number of technical points.
Ship of the future
The destroyer "Type 055" (lead - "Nanchang") or according to Western classification - a cruiser of the class "Renhai".
Designed in the last decade, "Type 055" belongs to the most modern projects of this purpose. And unlike its peers, the Chinese destroyer has overcome the stage of the layout and is being built in a large series.
The following points indicate the serious capabilities of the cruiser / destroyer.
Six gas turbine generators with a total capacity of 30 megawatts. The value is three times higher than that of the American Burks, which are content with 9 to 12 MW, depending on the sub-series number.
The most likely consequence of these values was the increased power
radiation from radar equipment. "Chinese" is equipped with a pair of impressive radars with eight active phased antennas.
The most obvious advantage of the "Type 055" was 112 installations for vertical launch of missiles (VLR). The number itself is not surprising. For example, the smaller Ticonderoga or the South Korean King Sejong III each have 128 slots.
A feature of the Chinese UVP is the larger size of the starting cell. As well as a new design in which each cell becomes an autonomous unit. With its own gas outlet.
Chinese technology has long lost the smell of cheap plastic and the reputation of a "disposable craft." But it is still capable of spoiling the impression with unexpected discoveries. For example, the height of the antennas on the super cruiser corresponds to the values achieved in the Admiral Gorshkov project. Despite the fact that the “Chinese” exceeds the frigate in displacement by almost two and a half times.
The reason is known
In everything related to military equipment, the Chinese prefer to trust foreign experience.
In the interests of the naval forces, China successfully “copy-pastes” the most famous (or on time at hand) foreign samples. Aircraft carrier "Type 002" - a repetition of the "Varyag". Amphibious transports with a docking chamber "Type 071" - the idea of such ships was "peeped" overseas (LPD of the San Antonio type). As a standard for the creation of the destroyer was chosen, who would doubt, "Arleigh Burke".
In other words, the development of the 10-ton "cruiser of the future" was carried out in the image and likeness of the 000-ton destroyer, born at the end of the Cold War.
The layout of the Berks was dictated not by beauty, but by vital necessity. Their radar consisted of four fixed antennas, which were about 4 meters across. Such large headlights required a strong and rigid foundation. Light mast structures could not hold such antennas. The limited displacement also prevented the construction of towers over the superstructure. The only way out was to place the antennas on the outer surfaces of the superstructure itself, literally 10 meters above the water.
The Chinese moved the solution to their project!
General layout, architecture of the superstructure, placement of weapons and antenna posts. Those who are unfamiliar with the details will not distinguish the Chinese destroyer from the Japanese "Atago" in 2005.
Further, the Chinese crossed the "snake with a hedgehog", putting on a berk-shaped destroyer a radar for detecting low-flying targets - as in more modern European projects.
But here ideas from the Old and New Worlds came into direct conflict.
Too high a superstructure (due to the placement of the antennas of the main radar in it) literally “gobbled up” the displacement reserves. Depriving the destroyer of the opportunity to grow in height. Therefore, the tower-like mast turned out to be low, and the huge ship received an unexpectedly squat silhouette.
In terms of the height of the installation of radar antennas, the Chinese Nanchang has become an outsider among all projects of the 2006st century. The British Daring (40) is considered the record holder here. Where the radar with two AFARs managed to be raised to the highest point of the mast (XNUMX meters).
Criticism of "Type 055" is not limited to one layout. For example, the destroyer's radar, despite the AFAR technology, differs from the radars of other modern ships. In the photographs of the destroyers under construction, it is visually noticeable that the antenna arrays of the 346B radar, called the Dragon's Eye, consist of three parts. The Chinese do not hide: they encountered difficulties when working in the decimeter range. The radar sees far, but its beams do not have the necessary accuracy when tracking and illuminating targets. Therefore, centimeter-range antennas (in the form of two bands) are forced to be used in the anti-aircraft weapon control system. The receiving-transmitting elements in the middle part serve only for viewing the space.
Such a prefabricated structure is inefficient in terms of dimensions. The "bands" of the tracking radar take away the usable area from the long-range radar. Not counting the difficulties in the mutual operation of the elements of such a radar.
The Type 055 series represents a qualitative leap in the development of the PRC Navy. Powerful and modern ships, with a certain set of advantages. At the same time, the conservatism and abuse of other people's ideas shown during their creation do not allow us to declare the confident superiority of cruisers / destroyers over their classmates.
The ships of the Chinese Navy are an inexhaustible source of technical surprises. For example, the destroyers of the previous project "Type 054D", which with all seriousness are given out as ships that are in no way inferior to their foreign opponents.
In this project, there is a surveillance radar of the "517" type of the meter range, installed in the middle part of the destroyer. An unexpected solution for a modern warship. The argument about the miraculous properties of the meter-range radar is refuted by the very fact of abandoning such radars on the more modern Nanchang. Apparently, the task of detecting "stealth" has lost its priority.
Everything was much easier. The basic version of the Dragon's Eye radar probably had problems with the detection range. Therefore, an additional long-range radar was installed on the destroyer. The one that was available. The Chinese needed to "drive" a series of ships, and they did not have time to develop a modern system.
The use of radars of different ranges (to detect "far" and "near" targets) is a well-known technique. The whole issue is technical. Just look at what tools are installed on the German Saxony (bottom illustration), whose project appeared in the 90s.
Finale
The Chinese Navy is impressive. There is undeniable potential here. The Chinese are doing more than the rest can afford. But the achieved results, which we are seeing now, cause restrained assessments.
The described problems persist in all structures of the naval forces. For example, the PRC Navy currently has no more than 10 multi-purpose nuclear submarines, some of which belong to the 2nd generation of multi-purpose submarines.
Another example. You have heard a lot about the development of Chinese anti-submarine aviation?
The presence of foreign naval bases in Southeast Asia, in Yemen, in Oman and on the coast of the African continent betrays one clear weakness. The existing "allies" and "satellites" are capable of providing support in the form of placing naval bases and logistics centers on their territory. But none of them has a large modern fleet. Away from the coast, Chinese sailors have to rely only on their own strength.
At this time, the main rival of the Chinese - the US Navy, has a pronounced multinational format. The capabilities of this fleet can be significantly enhanced through the involvement of a number of serious "elements", in the first place - the Japanese Self-Defense Navy.
However, this discussion goes far beyond the scope of the current article, which was planned as a purely technical review of the ship's composition.
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