Chinese Navy (PLAN) News & Discussions

english_man said:

On some forums, some members say the 'Sovs' should be retired early................but that is silly. i mean the last 2 are barely a decade old, and they pack a massive armament.
It will be interesting to see how these turn out after their refits........obviously the electronics will be updated, and most likely their communication systems will as well, so they integrate into the fleet better with China's own newer warships!

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Beast said:

First, all the system onboard Sov are ruskie, meaning datalink with the whole other fleet of PLAN will be minimal. Not to mention maintenance will be a nightmare. China needs to whole scratch build a maintenace based just to support this alien system. The Sov were bought out of desperation when Taiwan nearly declare independent during the 2000 period. As the PLAN technology were backward that time with no much option. Now with China technology advancing, these Sov are terrible.

I dare to say current Sov are even less capable than a 054A frigate besides the twin AK160 gun. The moskit are cumbersome and simply too big with huge infra signature and probably lack low level flying penetration compare to YJ-83 missiles. The AK630 or kashtan CWIS are so unimpressive that PLAN don't even bother to copy and plant it on their major warship. The whole Sov destroyer totally lack stealth and the propulsion system are outdated. Not to mention the sensor and radar.

If you keep track of PLAN news, it seems even the Kilo sub fleet lack activities and rarely on news or mission. I believe with more capable Yuan sub entering service. PLAN are slowly phasing out(mothball) these Kilo subs as they are maintenance nightmare for PLAN with all Ruskie system. Look at how problematic Indian sub fleet with their Kilo.

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aliaselin said:

Kilo is very good submarine. They have been refitted when receiving from Russian and have integrated with our system well. The only problem is they do not have AIP

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cirr said:

China's rail gun entering the final phase of trials and tests。

It is a well-known fact that Chinese in general，and PLAN in particular，are conservative folks。So you won't see the gun deployed on Type 055 DDG。

But Type 055A。。。

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english_man said:

All this goes to show how rapidly Chinese military technology has advanced during this century!

I still think its worthwhile for the Chinese military to keep the 'Sovs' for sometime, as they add some useful force and numbers to the Destroyer fleet. Currently the 'Luda' class is being retired, as they are really obsolete now, and they are the Navies first and foremost Destroyers to be replaced by the 052C's and 05D's.

Regarding Submarines....i've read today an article stating that Russia is prepared to sell its new Submarine design the 'Amur 1650' to China!

The Russian submarine the Amur 1650 is a modern version of the Kilo-class Russian submarine with improved acoustic stealth, new combat systems, and air-independent propulsion. The new Russian submarine would have a service life of about 50 years, and is expected to come with long range weapons in addition to anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons.

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wanglaokan said:

Russia will buy destroyer from China in the future, mark my word.

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cirr said:

Short of funds is the biggest challenge facing a PLAN that tries to rapidly modernize its fleets。

Yes，short of funds。

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english_man said:

Regarding Submarines....i've read today an article stating that Russia is prepared to sell its new Submarine design the 'Amur 1650' to China!

The Russian submarine the Amur 1650 is a modern version of the Kilo-class Russian submarine with improved acoustic stealth, new combat systems, and air-independent propulsion. The new Russian submarine would have a service life of about 50 years, and is expected to come with long range weapons in addition to anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons.

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english_man said:

In response to my earlier post, ive noticed that some members are dubious as to the deal that China may buy further Russian submarines. For reference this was only part of the deal, as Russia is prepared to sell more fighters to China, plus the S-400 anti-aircraft system.
Who knows whether this situation will become reality, and in fact the article where this information came from, stated its was more in Russia's favour to do a deal with China, as Russia is suffering from a tight squeeze financially, put upon itself by the EU and the US over the Ukraine crisis.
Personally i think it benefits China as it adds some strength to their military........i wasnt suggesting that China particularly needed the Russian offer, as i reckon by the end of this decade, China's military will solely be buying homemade equipment!

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Beast said:

I don't think so. With Xi in charge, he will put PLAN modernization in priority. Probably 2015 will be a big year for PLAN since 2014 is a disappointed year for PLAN.

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