The Chinese Navy's various types of main combat ships are all well-known among military fans, such as the 055 Daqi, the "Shandong" ship, and the 054A frigate, highlighting the important position of the Chinese Navy in coastal and far-sea operations. However, among the many ship formations of the Chinese Navy, there are two types of ships, although dozens of them have been built in a short period of time, but they have lost their previous role due to changes in the situation. However, with the Chinese Navy giving full play to its subjective initiative, these two types of ships have now found a place in the South China Sea again, taking on the important task of protecting China's sovereign interests on islands and reefs in the South China Sea. These two types of ships are the Chinese Navy's 056 series frigates and Type 22 missile boats, and their positioning changes also reflect an aspect of the development and progress of the Chinese Navy.
The role of the 056 series frigates has changed. In the 2010s, the Chinese Navy built 72 056 series frigates, becoming the largest Chinese Navy building more than 1,000 tons ** in the new century, second only to the Type 22 missile boats, another protagonist of this article. The 72 056 series frigates include two models: Type 056 frigates and Type 056A frigates, with 22 in the former and 50 in the latter. At present, all 22 Type 056 frigates have been decommissioned and handed over to the Coast Guard, where they will continue to be used as coast guard ships after refit. During the recent standoff in the South China Sea, the China Coast Guard dispatched the Type 056 vessels, which were converted into coast guard vessels.
The 50 056A frigates still retained by the Navy are mainly because they are equipped with active and passive towed sonar, which can search for foreign submarines in the near sea. In the East China Sea direction, Japan's high-performance conventional submarines are frequently active;And in the South China Sea, Vietnam's Kilo-class submarines and American nuclear submarines are also active, which require a large number of anti-submarine forces. At the same time, the service performance of the 056A frigate is also excellent, and the Chinese Navy often sends 056A frigates to provide support to the coast guard ships. During the South China Sea operation, the 056A frigate and the Type 056 ship, which had been converted into a coast guard vessel, operated together.
Around 2010, China's maritime law enforcement force was relatively weak, and the navy needed to undertake a large number of maritime patrol tasks, so the 056 series frigates were built on a large scale. However, more than a decade later, three changes have emerged: the strengthening of maritime law enforcement forces such as the Chinese coast guard and coast surveillance, the continuous expansion of the Chinese navy into the open ocean, and the anti-submarine capabilities of the 056A frigate are beginning to seem inadequate. Both the 056A frigate and the Type 22 missile boat are facing a complex situation. Although these frigates are less than 10 years old, the Navy faces a difficult disposal problem because the coast guard cannot accept all the decommissioned ships.
At present, these frigates are still performing offshore patrol and anti-submarine missions, but we also need to consider finding alternative equipment to further improve our coastal defense capabilities. The Type 22 missile boat was born in response to the severe gap in naval combat strength of our military in the face of the Taiwan Strait crisis in 96. Each Type 22 missile boat has the ability to carry eight YJ-83 anti-ship missiles, for a total of up to 600 units, which is enough to pose a threat to American aircraft carriers. According to the operational plans of that time, naval aviation fighters were to protect Type 22 missile boats from raids, while reconnaissance aircraft provided target designation. Although the Air Force also dispatched fighter jets to provide partial cover, most of the tasks were still left to the Navy itself.
However, with the advent of advanced destroyers, aircraft carriers, and the Dongfeng-21D anti-ship ballistic missile and YJ-18 anti-ship missile, the Type 22 missile boat no longer needs to take great risks to surprise the US aircraft carrier battle group at high speed. In addition, the Type 22 missile boat has an aluminum alloy hull to increase speed, which is susceptible to rust in seawater, making maintenance expensive and difficult. With the Type 22 missile boats no longer an important piece of equipment for the Navy, their situation has become awkward. Type 22 missile boats have once again demonstrated their important role in the recent standoff in the South China Sea. Due to their high speed, these missile boats have become our mobile force in response to emergencies in the South China Sea, and can quickly reach hot spots.
The Philippine side found that there were Type 22 missile boats around it, and they could not effectively deal with this kind of high speed and strong firepower. Therefore, we need to continue to strengthen the Navy's near-sea combat capabilities. Although the Type 22 missile boat has shown its role in the South China Sea, it cannot hide its lack of potential for upgrading and improvement and high maintenance costs. As the Navy continues to expand its ocean-going operations, we also need to strengthen our capabilities in coastal operations. Regarding the development of the Navy's near-sea combat capabilities, there are different opinions on the network. One point of view is that with the continuous improvement of the tonnage and combat performance of China's ocean-going ships, the 054A frigate can no longer keep up with the ocean-going fleet, and the 054A frigate can be considered to undertake offshore combat missions.
Another view is that the 4,000-ton 054A frigate is too high-end for offshore operations, and its anti-submarine capabilities are not sufficient to counter offshore threats. Therefore, it is advocated to develop a new type of frigate with a tonnage of between 2000 and 3000 tons, reduce the crew through a high degree of automation, improve the living environment, equip it with advanced power systems and anti-submarine equipment, and equip it with certain anti-aircraft and anti-ship **, depending on the situation. What do readers and friends think about these two points of view?Or if you have more outstanding ideas, welcome to exchange and discuss in the comment area.