The laying of the promising destroyer (missile cruiser) Type 055, along with the adoption of the Liaoning aircraft carrier, was another ominous event that confirmed China's ambitions as a contender for a great maritime power.
The PLA Navy intends to push its defensive perimeter from the coastal zone into the open sea. The conduct of hostilities in open sea areas requires new ships, whose weapons and capabilities allow them to operate without support from the shore.
Unlike the PLA's formerly built ships, whose size corresponded to ships of the "patrol ship" ("frigate") class, and whose weapons were limited to primitive missile systems and self-defense air defense, the new combat units of the Chinese fleet threaten to become one of the largest destroyers in the world. With the most modern means for airspace control. and long-range anti-aircraft missile systems providing air defense / missile defense of naval theaters of operations.
Among the announced characteristics of the new destroyers:
- 128 vertical missile silos, equivalent to the American UVP Mk.41 (two 64-charge blocks). As on American ships, the cells will be used to store and launch a wide range of weapons, including long-range anti-aircraft missiles HHQ-9B (analogue of the S-300 air defense missile system), medium-range HHQ-16 (analogue of the Buk air defense missile system) and short-range DC- 10 (four missiles in each cell), transatmospheric interceptors HQ-26 (analogue of the SM-3 anti-missile), as well as long-range cruise missiles CJ-10, anti-ship missiles YJ-100 and YJ-18 (the latter - with a detachable supersonic warhead) and anti-submarine missile torpedoes CY-5;
- a universal artillery installation. Initially, it was announced about a long-range system of 155 mm caliber, with its subsequent replacement by an electromagnetic rail gun. The reality turned out to be less interesting: at the moment, the most likely option is to equip the destroyer with a new naval gun H / PJ-38 of 130 mm caliber;
- short-range self-defense systems, including automatic 11-barreled anti-aircraft guns Type 1130 (rate of fire 11,000 rds / min) and 24-charge blocks of heat-guided missiles on a rotary carriage (conceptual analogue of RIM-116);
- a landing pad and a hangar for two anti-submarine helicopters.
The displacement of the new cruiser / destroyer is estimated at 12-13 thousand tons, which makes it the second largest surface missile and artillery ship after the American Zamvolta.
Embedded section of destroyer Type 055, Jiangnan-Changxing shipyard, December 2014. The new ship is expected to be launched in 2017 and commissioned in 2019.
Official Chinese sources state that the first eight Type 055 destroyers will be equipped with a conventional power plant consisting of four QC-280 gas turbines (a copy of the American General Electric LM2500). The destroyers of the next sub-series will receive a nuclear power plant, which will provide them with unlimited cruising range.
English-speaking experts are skeptical about this statement: the previous experience of operating surface warships with nuclear power systems confirmed the excessive cost of their operation, not compensated for by any real advantages (the ship's autonomy is limited not only by fuel). As a result, the US Navy decommissioned its last nuclear-powered cruiser twenty years ago. The Russian Navy is operating a couple of the remaining "Orlans", in the absence of any real alternative to them. That's all. To date, there are no projects in the world of non-aircraft-carrying surface warships with nuclear power systems.
Due to the lack of official images of the Type 055, the main intrigue remains the architectural appearance of the Chinese destroyer. Will it be based on the concept of the American "Zamwalt" or will Chinese shipbuilders follow a more familiar path, continuing the further evolution of "berk-like" destroyers?
Early image of Type 055
It so happened that all modern destroyers (American "Arleigh Burke", British "Daring", Japanese "Atago" and "Akizuki", Indian "Kolkata") are, first of all, specialized air defense ships. Which, of course, does not negate their reasonable universality.
This is facilitated by two reasons:
1. The main threat in modern naval combat is air attack weapons.
2. To accommodate advanced detection equipment on board, to ensure a sufficient height for the installation of antenna posts and the availability of a sufficient ammunition load for long-range anti-aircraft missiles, a large combat ship of the oceanic zone with a displacement of at least 7-8 thousand tons is required. Taking into account the need to ensure versatility, good seaworthiness and high autonomy, the displacement of modern destroyers often reaches 10 thousand tons or more.
Actually, long-range air defense systems and zonal air defense / missile defense systems are the main reason for the existence of destroyers (cruisers) in our time. All other strike and defensive weapons (KRBD, anti-ship missiles, PLUR, self-defense air defense systems) require an order of magnitude smaller volumes for their placement on board, so they can be successfully installed on more modest platforms (corvettes, frigates, LCS and even IAC) or on submarines …
Developing the theme of an air defense destroyer, the most effective is the scheme with two radar stations of different ranges:
- radar centimeter range (foreign designation - X-band), which allows you to form a "sharp" beam for the detection of low-flying small objects (anti-ship missiles). The purpose of the station is the timely detection of low-flying anti-ship missiles, as soon as they rise above the horizon. A very crucial moment - less than a minute is left before the anti-ship missile hits the target. Time is running out, the speed of the processors and the high refresh rate are important. Therefore, the highest requirements are imposed on these radars;
- Surveillance radar of the decimeter range (S or L-band) for detecting targets at long distances, up to low near-earth orbits. This is due to the fact that a decimeter radar has a higher detection range at the same output power than a radar operating in a centimeter range, because signal power loss increases with frequency.
Many questions about the Type 055 can be answered by its full-size model under construction in Hubei. According to common photographs, the layout of the Chinese destroyer is more in line with the British Daring.
The layout is estimated to be over 160 meters long.
A mock-up of an aircraft carrier with a "springboard" is visible in the background.
The antenna post of the horizon tracking radar (X), obviously, will be located at the top of the foremast - for maximum expansion of the radio horizon.
In the aft part of the destroyer, it is planned to equip another antenna post of an early warning radar (similar to the British S1850M).
Due to technological advances in recent years, all Chinese destroyers (as well as destroyers of the Japanese Navy, the US Navy, India and all European countries) will be equipped with active phased antenna radars (AFAR).
Multifunctional mast - with AFAR "plates" located on its outer surface, receiving and transmitting antennas of communication systems and sensors for various purposes. It is assumed that Type 055 destroyers will be equipped with a similar stealth pyramid.
AFAR technology allows you to expand the scope of the radar. In addition to detecting air and sea targets, such stations are capable of duplicating the tasks of navigation radars, detecting floating mines, performing the tasks of electronic reconnaissance equipment and, most importantly, taking on the responsibilities of radar for guiding anti-aircraft missiles. An array of thousands of receiving and transmitting modules, each of which is capable of operating separately from the others (in practice, APMs are grouped into modules of several dozen pieces to amplify the signal) allows to form dozens of separate beams for “highlighting” targets and controlling launched anti-aircraft missiles. The ship has a real opportunity to repel massive air attacks.
Destroyers under construction of the previous type (Type 052D), which are smaller copies of the American Burk, with the introduction of a number of new technologies (AFAR) and their own weapons. At the moment, the lead destroyer Kunming has entered service, and three more ships are being completed afloat. By 2020, the composition of the PLA Navy should be replenished with 12 Type 052D missile destroyers
P. S. It is curious that the budget of the PLA Navy is only twice the budget of the Russian Navy. In view of the inconsistency of the ratio of costs and benefits, an amazing paradox arises, the solution of which can be two conclusions. First, the Chinese use slave labor in shipyards. The second, more obvious one: the real budget of the Chinese fleet is strictly classified, and its value is several times higher than the published data.
