In the shipyard in Hudong, Changxing Island, the silhouette of the 054B frigate has already appeared, attracting the attention of many military enthusiasts. 054B is still under construction, but as can be seen from the superstructure at the front of the ship, it is very different from 054A. Based on current speculation, the final shape of 054B may be similar to that of the French Aquitaine-class frigate, with a displacement of 5,000 tons, leaving 32 vertical launch units unchanged.
Some of the latest conceptual drawings of the 054B frigate were posted on social media. Due to the recent ** of the semi-finished hull of the 054B, these drawings have been adjusted accordingly to be closer to the real appearance of the 054B, and it also highlights the difference between it and the 054A.
As can be seen from the relevant **, the appearance of the 054B may be very similar to the French Aquitaine-class frigates, and why?First of all, look at the differences between 054B and 054A, mainly concentrated in the middle part of the ship, that is, the area between the hangar and the bridge, because 054B uses a new type of diesel-fuel hybrid, so in addition to the chimney of the original diesel system, the middle part also adds a gas-powered intake and exhaust system. This change caused the middle part of 054B to become longer, which in turn affected the overall length of 054B, and the displacement also increased, and it is said that 054B is expected to have a displacement of more than 5,000 tons, which is not much different from the early 052C D model.
However, according to the speculation of military fans, although there is a lot of space between the bridge and the hangar, after installing the gas intake and exhaust ports, the launcher of the YJ12 anti-ship missile will also be installed, and in fact, there is not much space left. Moreover, in order to consider stealth, side baffles may be installed on both sides of the middle part of the ship, which can not only make the hull more beautiful, but also block some exhaust ports with high infrared radiation. Of course, this side flap was supposed to be movable for launching anti-ship missiles, or for replenishment at sea.
So, at this point, many military fans should understand that in fact, the middle part of the 054B's longer ship, as well as the possible additional side baffles, are very similar to the design style of the French Aquitaine-class frigates, including the Aquitaine-class rear higher auxiliary mast and the front main mast, is there some similarity with the current 054B?In fact, this is not surprising, in fact, when the domestic frigate began to be modernized from 054, the initial design referred to the French Lafayette class, which the chief designer of 054 once made it clear that it can be said that the domestic frigate has some French frigate style in it. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise if the 054B is close to the style of the Aquitaine class. Although it is not possible to say that Europe is not able to make destroyers now, it is very experienced in making frigates, which can be regarded as a unique skill tree, and it is also a sign of self-confidence to learn from excellent and mature design styles.
As for the number of vertical launch units, since the vertical launch of the YJ12 anti-ship missile has high requirements for length, it is likely that the method of launching the frame will be followed in consideration of the cost, which was also mentioned earlier when the length of the middle part of the ship was mentioned. Then the vertical hair is likely to continue to use the 32 vertical hair of 054a, and the advantage is that the design difficulty is small, which is conducive to the rapid construction of "dumplings". If you want to add more vertical hair, then the hull size is not simply an increase in length, it may need to be overhauled, and this treatment can probably only be seen on the 052e. Of course, this may disappoint military fans who want to see 054b adopt 64 drooping hair.
In general, the 054B still continues the style of domestic small steps and fast upgrades, and the performance has been slightly improved, mainly to enhance the ability of anti-submarine and interception of Western stealth anti-ship missiles. After all, 054B is not a capital ship, so as long as the level is upgraded to be able to deal with the American Constellation class and Japan's FFM30, it doesn't need to take up too much cost, and the significance of concentrating on "dumplings" 055A and 052E may be greater later, and 054B only needs to complete its own work.