The speed at which the 052D destroyer was launched did not live up to the description of "dumplings".
In November 2023, the fourth batch of 052D expulsion has launched 5 ships, so far half of the 10 052D ships of the fourth batch have been delivered, and China's 052D has reached 30 ships, and the PLA Navy lineup can be called "strong".
At the current shipbuilding speed in China, it is expected that all 35 052Ds will be delivered by 2025.
Together with the previous destroyers 052D, 052C, 051C and other destroyers, the number of shield ships in China has exceeded half of the American destroyer formation, yesThe world's second navy without surprise.
Under China, there is a huge gap between the number of shield ships of other countries and China, and the 052D destroyer is positioned between China's main force ** and "miscellaneous ships", which can undertake both anti-ship and anti-submarine and air defense tasks.
Of course, the most important thing about 052D is that it is cheap052D** is only about half of the 055 drive, but it can play a role of 60% 70% of the 055 drive, which is extremely cost-effective.
Therefore, in the already 055 drive to fill the vacancy of the "high firepower platform", in the stage of increasing the number of **, mass production of 052D has a higher cost performance.
And with the current speed of technological development, in the case that 052D has been finalized, it is natural that 052D will become the mainstream and 055 will be slow in production.
Of all the destroyers in China, the 052D can be considered the only "complete body". Previously, China has produced 051CB, 052C and other front-end models, which have been fully verified and the technology has been relatively mature.
Compared with the 052D destroyer, like the 055 large drive and the 054 type frigate, there is basically no front-end model, and China has no experience in producing 10,000-ton destroyers and 4,000-ton frigates.
The 055 big drive and the Type 054 frigate are, to some extent, more like the ** of the verification technology.
Follow ChinaTake small steps and run brisklyThe development strategy, such as this "technical verification type**", is usually produced in small quantities, and then quickly improved in the future, just like the pre-models of the 052D destroyer.
Among them, the Type 054 frigate was not high because the technical requirements were not high, so the Type 054B was only available after mass production.
But the 055 is different, the technical requirements are higher than the Type 052D destroyer, so it has also embarked on the path of running in small steps, producing 8 ships first and then changing them. Even the 8 055 drives that have been launched have been improved halfway, and not all 8 are exactly the same.
In this context, 052D, as a finalized **, will naturally be produced quickly.
Now in production are the 4th batch of 052D destroyers, a total of 10 units. According to the development goals of the Chinese Navy, the number of shield ships in China will be equal to that of the United States.
It is estimated that after the 4th batch of 052D is fully produced, the shipyard will stop for 1 to 2 years before producing the 5th batch of 052d.
At present, China's 052d belongs to the United States has not caught up, butAlready extremely combativeof the stage. For the Chinese Navy in 2024, it will also face two "big tests", that is, the South China Sea issue and the Taiwan issue.
The South China Sea issue is mainly an island dispute with the Philippines. At present, the Philippines has always had contradictions with China on Ren'ai Jiao, Thitu Island and other islands and reefs.
These islands and reefs are currently under the actual control of the Philippines, and the Philippines has been using these islands and reefs to confront China's sovereignty issues, among which the Ren'ai Jiao issue has attracted the most attention.
In the second half of 2023, the Philippines has had a very many porcelain encounters on Ren'ai Jiao, and there was even an incident in which the chief of the general staff of the Philippine Army landed on Ren'ai Jiao.
This is a clear provocationWhether the Philippines wants to provoke China or is pushed by the United States to provoke China, the Philippines' actions have substantially violated China's sovereignty.
After the start of 2024, the Philippines and the United States held a joint cruise on January 3 and 4. This shows that the Philippines has never given up hyping up the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty and is unwilling to negotiate a settlement with China on the South China Sea issue.
If nothing else, the Philippines is expected to have a lot of moves in 2024, and China's methods will be tested very much.
However, no matter how China handles the Ren'ai Jiao issue, the Navy will always be China's staunchest guarantee.
The Chinese coast guard has the upper hand in the confrontation with the Philippines because China has the world's second-strongest navy, and the Chinese fleet can sail to the Philippines' doorstep at any time.
Therefore, if China wants to have more advantages on the Ren'ai Jiao issue, it needs to launch more 052D destroyers.
As for the issue of China's Taiwan, in fact, by 2024, it will be difficult for the mainland to deal with related issues.
Because 2024 is the so-called "** year" in Taiwan, China, the Taiwan authorities want to elect a new person in power.
As far as the mainland is concerned, among the Taiwan authorities, the strength of the reunification faction is better than that of the status quo faction, and the maintenance of the status quo faction is better than the status quo faction."
After all, once "the first force controls the overall situation, it will undoubtedly intensify China's Taiwan issue, which is not optimistic.
The fundamental cause of the Taiwan Strait crisis in 1996 was that after the "Taiwan" forces took power, China and the United States used military means to intimidate each other on this matter.
On December 27, 2023, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of China said in response to the "**" statement on the island of Taiwan
"At present, Taiwan is facing a crossroads. ”The implication is that the choice of Taiwan, China, to come to power will have an impact on the mainland's behavior.
To be on the safe side, ** actually does not want to hastily solve the Taiwan issue of China, after all, there is still a little gap between China's military strength and the United States, and economically China has not yet fully integrated Southeast Asia.
If there is a war with the United States now, China's internal economy will be greatly impacted, and militarily there will be a relatively large **.
With the current development trend of China and the United States,China's development potential is much greater than that of the United States, so time is clearly on China's side.
In the context of the severe contraction of the American shipbuilding industry, the aging rate of American ships is very fast. In a few years, the United States will face a situation in which old ships such as Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and Ticonderoga-class cruisers will be retired and new ships will not be built.
ThereforeIt is very disadvantageous to go to war with the United States nowBy 2027 and around 2030, it will be a better time.
Of course, no matter how the situation changes, China will not be wrong in its efforts to develop its navy. Therefore, China is building 052D now, and the construction of 052D should be accelerated in the future.
Project Sword
References: 1] Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council: Taiwan is facing a crossroads, and I sincerely hope that compatriots on both sides of the strait will jointly maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait
2] China Youth Daily, "* Response to the US-Philippines Joint Patrol in the South China Sea: Stop Irresponsible Actions".