"The 055 destroyer has too much air defense, insufficient short-range firepower, or as a result, is at a disadvantage in front of unmanned boats"
Over the past three decades, military drones have become a regular on the battlefield, from the Gulf War to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and new tactics have eclipsed tradition**. However, the real game-changing war took place in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has revealed an obvious fact: traditional ** can hardly protect itself in the face of modern unmanned military equipment. Tanks and artillery have become live targets for UAVs and cruise missiles, and infantry has become the best target for small UAVs. Fighters are limited by anti-aircraft missiles, and low-cost UAVs become the main force in delivering air strikes.
In naval battles, even the submerged Ukrainian Navy can still inflict heavy losses on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, relying on unmanned boats that work similarly to drones. Russia's painful experience has sent a clear warning to China: compared with the high-tech ** of the US military, such as aircraft carriers and bombers, the PLA needs to be more vigilant against the attack of unmanned boats when it is reunified.
On February 14, the large landing ship "Kaiser Kunikov" of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was sunk by an unmanned attack boat of the Ukrainian army, which was the second ** destroyed by an unmanned boat this month. The Russian tarantula-class frigate "Ivanovits" was also destroyed by the Ukrainian unmanned boat on February 1. In the face of this asymmetric combat method, the Russian army cannot effectively counteract, which confirms the value of unmanned boats in war.
In fact, unmanned surface vehicles are not new**. In the 60s of the last century, the Soviet Union developed a small remote-controlled unmanned surface vehicle for suicide attacks on the US ** team. However, due to technical limitations, the control distance and speed of these unmanned boats are limited, so they have no actual combat value.
The Magura V5 unmanned boat, adopted by Ukraine in real combat, was developed by the Ukrainian military-industrial complex SpetsTechnoexport and has a semi-submersible design and a length of 55 meters, range 833 km, cruising speed 22 knots. The Magura V5 can carry 320 kilograms of explosives, which can be remotely controlled through the "Starlink" system, making it a powerful tool for the Ukrainian army to carry out attacks near Crimea.
From a technical point of view, the Magura V5 is not outstanding, but on the battlefield it has cost Russia dearly. Ukraine's successful experience warns China that the PLA's fleet needs to strengthen its defense against unmanned boats in future wars.
In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the successful attack of unmanned boats is mainly supported by "Starlink" data. This kind of low-cost, unguardable ** has a huge potential threat in modern warfare. For the PLA, unmanned boats have become a new means that may be used to deal with the US ** team.
The configuration of modern ships tends to focus too much on air defense, which leads to a significant reduction in the interception capability of small surface ships. In particular, the Type 055 destroyer, although it is strong in air defense, is vulnerable in front of unmanned boats due to the lack of short-range ** configuration.
The PLA needs to realize that while high-tech technologies such as shipborne missiles are important, intensive short-range firepower is also critical in war. Faced with the possibility of a future conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the PLA must re-examine its fleet equipment and enhance its short-range firepower to effectively respond to the threat of unmanned boats.
Ukraine's tactical successes provide a revelation for the PLA. Unmanned boats may become a magic weapon for winning future wars, but the PLA needs to maintain a leading position in technology research and development and tactical application. By adding rapid-fire guns, electromagnetic interference, and developing anti-unmanned boat jamming bombs, the PLA is able to effectively counter this new threat.
In addition, the PLA also needs to study how to cut the link between the unmanned boat and the "Starlink" so that it loses the ability to attack with long-range precision. In future wars, this could be the key to victory.
Overall, the emergence of unmanned boats has changed the battlefield pattern and provided the PLA with a new option to deal with the US ** team. In the future arms race, the PLA needs to maintain innovation and constantly optimize its fleet configuration to ensure its ability to maintain sea supremacy in modern warfare.