Aditya_V wrote:Noticed 1 some more key differences between type 056/056A, apart from long range, special hulls with special raft mounted engines, Kamorta carries heavyweight torpedos vs type 056A carries lightweight Torpedos(324mm width) which can engage subs only with 3Km range. and does not have a helicopter hanger
https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/chinas- ... h-warship/
As I reported elsewhere, Type 056/056A corvettes are multipurpose platforms capable of surface warfare in the littoral region: “Next to four YJ-83 anti-ship missiles (two launchers with two missiles each) and a 76-millimeter main gun, the ASW variant is also equipped with two 324-millimeter triple torpedo launchers (…). The ship’s flight deck also allows operation of a Harbin Z-9 military helicopter, specifically equipped for ASW missions.”
However, the ship does not have a helicopter hangar to permanently carry a Z-9 fitted with an airborne dipping sonar for ASW missions. Given the ships’ deployment close to shore, this could possibly be addressed by close coordination between the surface combatants and PLANs growing fleet of land-based ASW aircraft like the Gaoxin-6.
SO basically it is wrong to compare Kamorta and type 056A, type 56/56A is our OPV class fitted with 4 Anti ship missiles and 2 light torpedos.
See the propulsion
- for our Saryu class OPV - 2 × Pielstick PA 6B STC diesel engines, 21,725 PS (15,979 kW)
- for type 056/056A - 2 SEMT Pielstick PA6-STC diesel motors
- for kamorta - 20,384 hp (15,200 kW)CODAD: 4 × Pielstick 12PA 6 STC6 Diesel engines
So I think we are unnecessarily beating ourselves comparing cost of Kamorta and type 56.
With only a small bow mounted sonar and 2 lightweight torpedos without a helicopter hanger which even our OPV's have, can be best used as a stop gap measure and cannot be real ASW assets for the PLAN.
Reading more on the Z-9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbin_Z-9
The naval version introduced in the 1990s is known as the Z-9C. As well as SAR and ASW duties, the Z-9C can be fitted with an X-band KLC-1 surface search radar to detect surface targets beyond the range of shipborne radar systems.[5]
Note no dipping Sonar
The Chinese seem to be just throwing numbers, I am sure without the Sensors and equipment our Hull manufacturing is not much more expensive than the Chinese.
Whilst I would wholeheartedly agree that equating the two would be a mistake, I would offer that the two classes follow different paths toward ASW.
The 056A programme is a cheap light frigate(PLAN nomenclature) or corvette that allows the Chinese Navy to flood the all seas bound by the first isalnd chain with hulls and sensors, freeing the larger Type 054A's and Type 052C's/D's for longer range missions. Both variants of the class are credited with a three-week period of endurance at sea, operating in the littorals, under the protective umbrella of land based air assets.
The ASW variant of the Type 056 - which numbers 20+ commissioned hulls and counting - does have a comprehensive sonar and decoy suite. All ASW variants are equipped with the same towed array and variable depth sonar set-up as the Type 052D and flight 2 Type 054A's:
The variable depth sonar and its release mechanism are obvious in this picture, but you can also note the coiled towed array and its release aperture to the the left of the VDS. Both active and passive arrays can be deployed at once, as is demonstrated by a Type 052D in the pic below:
To your point about the use of raft mounted engines and transmission, I think that's a feature in almost all modern ASW naval platforms. All Type 056 and Type 054A variants have their diesel engines mounted on rafts as a noise suppression measure.
WRT torpedoes, both type 056 variants (GP and ASW) are equipped with two triple torpedo launchers. That 6 Yu7, light weight torpedoes, credited with a 10km range, and a speed of 43kts.
Lacking a VLS, the Type 056A cannot use the vertically launched Yu8 ("ASROC") torpedo carrying rocket as the Type 054A does, but the Chinese Navy has developed an air-breathing torpedo carrying missile to be launched from the ST-16M deck launchers of Type 056A's (and Type 054A frigates?).
More on that missile and the original video can be found in this navyrecognition article:
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... china.html
However, ASW heli's are a weak point for all Chinese surface assets at the moment. The Z9C is not as capable or as long-legged as the much larger NH90, or Merlin. It is a 4.5 ton airframe vs 10 tons for the NH90 and SH60 and it does not carry on board sono-buoys. But it does have a dipping sonar:
Building a Kamorta sized ASW platform really would have been a non-starter for the Chinese. It's the size of a frigate, and even with four shipyards spitting them out concurrently, such a vessel would have been prohibitively expensive to build en-masse. At the rate they're building and commissioning them, the Chinese seem satisfied with these vessels as a replacement for their old/obsolete Type 037 (500ton) sub chasers.
