Recently, a group of pictures have attracted widespread attention and speculation on the international Internet. Next to a Type 054A frigate under maintenance at a shipyard, a brand-new frigate appeared, which is very different from any surface ship that our army has ever served. This frigate has a unique appearance design, focuses on stealth capability, uses a fully stealth naval gun, and combines the superstructure and the helicopter garage into one, presenting a sci-fi appearance. Because its appearance is similar to the US Navy’s littoral combat ship, it was once called the "Chinese version of the littoral combat ship." However, speculation about the true purpose of this frigate has always been a mystery. Foreign media have also reported and speculated on it, believing that it is a foreign trade ship. Recently, this question finally has an authoritative answer. It turns out that this is a technical test ship.
What does the new ship test?
Test ship, as the name suggests, is a special platform for testing and experimenting with new naval technologies and equipment. Different test ships have different test objectives and contents. Some are weapons or equipment test ships, which are specially used to test new weapons and equipment, new radar electronics or power devices, etc.; some are concept test ships, that is, new concept test platforms, which test new ship structures, etc. Although authoritative channels have announced that this new stealth ship is a test ship, the specific test objectives and contents have not been disclosed. So, what exactly does this new ship test?
Our navy actually has many test ships, such as the "Hua Luogeng" and the "Bi Sheng", and this new test ship has a clear experimental nature in design, especially its fully stealth naval gun. It is observed that the 16-unit re-launch installed on this new test ship is located in the raised platform, and there are some devices similar to vertical launch tubes placed on the shore, which are likely to be used to test the new large-caliber vertical launch missiles dedicated to the new destroyers and frigates. The size of these vertical launch tubes is larger, and it seems to be significantly larger than the "Hongqi"-16 launch tube used by the previous 054A frigate. The raised platform design should be to accommodate the increase in the size of the vertical launch unit, especially the depth, to accommodate larger missiles. At present, my country has adopted the new national standard cold and hot co-frame large-caliber universal missile launch system on the 052D and 055 destroyers, which can be compatible with the launch of air defense missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine missiles and other types and models of missiles, and the combat capability has been significantly enhanced. However, our military’s frigates still use the launch system of the 054A frigate, which has a relatively single function and a low comprehensive launch capability.
In fact, my country has developed a new generation of universal launch systems. At the Zhuhai Air Show, the HT-1E universal vertical launch system was displayed. It can be compatible with a variety of air defense, anti-ship, ground and anti-submarine missiles. The full stealth ship chose to raise the installation height of the vertical launch system, which is obviously prepared for launching larger missiles. In theory, missiles such as "Eagle Strike" 18A, "Red Flag"-16, "Sea Red Flag"-9B and CM-103 can be accommodated, which is a major breakthrough in the combat capability of domestic frigates.
Since the new test ship is 2,000 tons and can be equipped with 16 units of new experimental launchers, we can also guess that this new launcher is modular and can be assembled with different numbers of launch units as needed. For example, a 5,000-ton frigate can use 32 launch units. Smaller patrol ships can also use 8 units. Modular launchers are a trend in the world’s ship-borne missile vertical launchers.
Overview of the new ship
Next to the domestic new full-stealth test ship is a Type 054A frigate under repair. From the comparison of the two sizes, the support of the full-stealth ship is obviously smaller than the latter, but the freeboard height is almost the same, and the superstructure is even slightly higher. From this perspective, the tonnage of the full-stealth ship should be around 2,000 tons, which is the level of a light multi-functional frigate. It mainly performs near-shore combat missions and has certain ocean-going combat capabilities.
The most obvious feature of the full-stealth ship is the full-stealth design. Its hull and superstructure are integrated, the surface is smooth and smooth, there are obvious fold lines, and there are no vertical surfaces and fracture surfaces. The deck is also covered, and conventional anchoring, mooring and other equipment are all under the deck to control the ship’s RCS. The mast adopts an integrated mast system, which realizes the organic unity of electronic equipment and superstructure, and further reduces the ship’s RCS.
The most surprising thing is that the full stealth ship also uses a full stealth turret. The turret is prismatic, and the gun barrel is retracted into the turret when not in use, and only extends when shooting. This is the first time that the full stealth turret has been used on domestic surface ships, which also marks that domestic surface ships have entered the era of full stealth.
From the size of the turret, it should be a medium-caliber naval gun, with a height similar to the PJ-26 76mm naval gun of the 054A frigate, but the turret volume is smaller, and the caliber of the naval gun may be 76mm or 57mm.
The full stealth ship does not have a short-range anti-missile rapid-fire gun system. There is only a "Hongqi"-10 short-range ship-to-air missile launcher installed on the top of the helicopter hangar. It may adopt an 18-unit design. The Hongqi-10 missile can provide an interception distance of more than 10 kilometers for anti-ship missiles. It has strong anti-saturation capability and can form a relatively strict air defense system with vertical medium-range ship-to-air missiles. As for the terminal air defense and anti-missile, it can be completed by guided artillery shells fired by ship guns.
The full stealth ship has a relatively large helicopter landing deck at the stern. Judging from the size, it can take off and land helicopters of the Z-20 level. In addition, the full stealth ship will definitely increase the ability to use unmanned combat systems, such as unmanned helicopters, unmanned combat boats, etc.
From the appearance, the fully stealth ship has eliminated the traditional upright chimney. The high-temperature exhaust gas generated by the main engine is cooled and discharged from the exhaust port near the stern waterline of the ship. This can effectively reduce the infrared signal characteristics of the ship and improve the ship’s concealment performance and battlefield survivability. At the same time, the chimney-free design also saves space on the upper deck and simplifies the superstructure design. The C28A frigate exported to Algeria adopts a chimney-free design, and the evaluation of the Algerian Navy in use is also good.
Conclusion
The emergence of the domestic new stealth test ship, on the one hand, allows us to see that the Chinese Navy and shipbuilding industry units are increasingly willing to invest in the research and development of new technologies and new equipment. The large number of various test ships fully reflects the rapid technological development and progress of the Chinese Navy. On the other hand, we see that the Chinese Navy has reached the world’s leading level in ship design, especially stealth design, and the comprehensive design capabilities and levels of ships have made new progress. These are all things that make us happy.
