2023 is about to pass, and some netizens combined with official news to list all the new combat ships of the Chinese Navy this year, namely 2 Type 055 destroyers, 7 Type 054AG frigates and 1 possible Type 039C submarine, with a total tonnage of about 540,000 tons.
In 2023, the Chinese Navy added about 10 new ships
The two Type 055 destroyers were the Zunyi and Xianyang ships that appeared in official reports in mid-to-late April. Although it is not yet known the specific service time of the two ships, the public appearance of these two ships also means that the first batch of 8 Type 055 destroyers of the Chinese Navy have all been listed.
Judging from the official report of "a naval base in the Southern Theater" and other expressions, these two ** ships should be subordinate to the South China Sea Fleet. So far, the Chinese Navy has realized the configuration of four 10,000-ton drives in the north and south.
Considering that one of the main tasks of the Type 055 is to serve as the "guard with a knife" of the aircraft carrier, the inclusion of these two Type 055 ships can, on the one hand, make the combat formation of the Shandong ship formation more flexible, and on the other hand, it can also make it more convenient for the South China Sea Fleet to deploy 10,000 tons of large drives in other tasks.
The Xianyang ship, which was officially announced for the first time in April this year
Compared with the addition of only 2 Type 055 destroyers, the Chinese Navy's frigate force can be described as a lot of gains in 2023, with a total of 7 Type 054AG in the ranks. They were the Baoji and Yixing ships that were listed in January, the Chenzhou ships that were listed in February, the Huaibei ships that were listed in July, the Quzhou ships that were listed in August, the Dali ships that were listed in November, and the Tongliao ships that were listed in December.
Although in terms of tonnage, 054AG has a significant gap with the "junior" 054B type, but as a frigate equipped with X-band phased array fire control radar and 32 units of vertical hair, which can be equipped with Hongqi 16C anti-aircraft missiles, 054AG's combat power is still good. With the addition of these 7 new 054AG, the overall air defense and anti-submarine capabilities of the Chinese Navy will be improved.
The Dali ship, which appeared in the sea training in November this year
In addition to these nine surface ships, the Chinese Navy may have commissioned at least one Type 039C submarine this year.
Due to the use of a mushroom-shaped enclosure design, the Chinese Navy's Type 039C submarine has been improved in terms of concealment and underwater maneuverability, and its towed sonar has also enhanced its underwater detection capability.
In 2022, the outside world basically confirmed that Type 039C has been included in the list through a ** officially released by the Chinese Navy, and there is a high probability that it has entered the mass production stage. Given the pace of China's ship construction, it is now speculated that at least one Type 039 should be on the list in 2023.
Through an official ** in 2022, it is speculated that 039C has been put into service
If calculated based on a 039C, the total tonnage of ships listed by the Chinese Navy this year is about 540,000 tons.
In 2022, the total tonnage of the Chinese Navy's newly listed ships is still around 120,000 tons. This has undoubtedly given the outside world the illusion that the stage of the Chinese navy's "dumplings" has passed. However, judging from the development of the Chinese Navy, it is normal for such a situation of a sharp reduction in the total tonnage of ships to be included in the list for a short time.
You must know that the level of China's military technology is steadily improving, even if it is the same type of ship, different batches, there will inevitably be some differences in technical details, and it is normal for there to be a one-year production interval between the two batches.
In recent years, it has been a transitional period when the basic construction of the last batch of ships of the Chinese Navy has been completed, and the construction of a new batch of ships with technological improvements has begun, but it has not yet been officially completed.
In 2023, the Chinese Navy did not enter service with the new 052D].
To give the most obvious example, in 2023, the Chinese Navy did not enter service with any new Type 052D destroyers. This is mainly because, from 2018 to 2020, after the construction of more than a dozen 052DLs in the third batch began, the Chinese ** engineering department carried out a new upgrade to the 052D series, and the construction of the fourth batch of 052D only began in 2022.
This also leads to the fact that when the last Yeosu ship of the 3rd batch 052D is commissioned in 2022, the new ships of the 4th batch have not yet been launched. However, the outside world can now basically confirm that the fourth batch of 052D series destroyers has been launched, of which the Dazhou ship, which is the first to start construction, may be commissioned at the end of 2024.
It can be seen that the speed of new construction of medium and first workers has not slowed down. In addition to the 4th batch 052D just mentioned, the 2nd batch of Type 055 may also have started construction. The 054B model, which comprehensively surpasses the 054AG in performance, has been officially announced. Therefore, in 2024, we may not see 7 054AGs entering service one after another, but we may see the new 052D and 054B.
Type 054B has been officially announced
Another point is that the total tonnage of the Chinese Navy in 2023 is small, partly because there are no large ships of tens of thousands of tons. But in the shipyard, it is not that there are no such ships that are being outfitted and other work.
The Fujian, the third aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy, is currently in the shipyard, conducting mooring tests, and it is possible that it will go to sea for sea trials early next year. If all goes well in the sea trials, it is not impossible that the Fujian ship will be officially commissioned at the end of 2024.
The latest news shows that the Fujian ship is undergoing mooring tests in the port
In addition, in December, the fourth Type 075 attack ship of the Chinese Navy has been launched, although according to the previous, it will take about 20 months for the Type 075 to be officially put into service from launch to formal service, outfitting and sea trials, in 2024, the outside world may not see the 075 brush number, but by 2025, this 40,000-ton ship will inevitably be officially listed.
Therefore, we don't need to be too nervous about the reduction of the total tonnage of new ships in the Chinese Navy, we only need to give the first industry a year or two, and the service speed of the new ships of the Chinese Navy can return to the peak. Besides, even if it's 5The figure of 40,000 tons is comparable to few countries in the world.