PLA launches newest Type 056 Jiangdao corvette
Type 056 number 594 under fitting after a successfull launch & sea trialsQUOTE
2 twin launcher for C803 Anti-ship missiles (note the 30mm CIWS system just in front of the launchers)
8-cell HQ-10 SAM launcher
76mm Main gunThe PLA recently launched its latest ship in the Type 056 corvette line (Number 503). The ship line,classified as a missile corvette, is 89 meters long and weighs 1,300 tons in displacement. The Type 056 is designed for modularity, with 4 modular design modules able to be fitted onto the basic hull (Anti-Ship, Anti-Submarine, Anti-Aircraft and command flagship versions).
The basic Type 056 is armed with 1x 76mm gun, 2x 30mm CIWS, 1x 8-cell SAM launcher, 4x C803 Anti-ship missiles and 2 torpedo launchers. There is a helipad for a light helicopter, but no hangar bay. The Type 056 has some features to help reduce its detection signature such as an absence of sharp angles on the superstructure that could reflect radar and also an IR masking system on the chimney and engine systems.
While on paper,the Type 056 is somewhat of a good,if unremarkable vessel,what is most notable feature of the Type 056 is the sheer pace of its construction.The PLA ordered 30 units of the vessel for its navy only in 2010 and remarkably the first Type 056 (Bengbu, number 582) was already launched in 2012. In the space of 2 years (2012-2014) the construction companies have launched
22(TWENTY TWO) Type 056 ships!! That's a rate of one vessel per month!!
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This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Sep 15 2014, 04:45 PM