Tom Shugart Profile picture
Defense analyst, former submariner, pilot. @cnasdc Adjunct Senior Fellow. Founder, Archer Strategic Consulting. Opinions my own. RT=/=endorsement.

Dec 14, 2022, 8 tweets

Some details from ONI:
- additional Type 055 cruisers are under construction. We've seen signs of this in O/S imagery, but good to see confirmation.
- 7+ Type 052DL DDGs under construction. We've seen 5 building at Dalian, and 1 or 2 at Jiangnan shipyard (looks like it's 2).

Here is some of my previous speculation based on imagery of Jiangnan shipyard. At the time, I had thought that in spotted there were for a Type 055, then received feedback they were probably 052DL parts. Turns out that perhaps the answer was: Yes, both! 😐

Another update: looks like the PLAN is up to 15+ hovercraft now (2020 chart showed 10+)

As discussed in the recent China Military Power Report, the charts shows 22 Type 056 FFLs transferred from the PLA Navy to the China Coast Guard.

In with the new, out with the old: looks like the PLAN has gotten rid of more of its older, obsolescent ships, though I'd note that some of these are of about the same age as the first USN Arleigh Burke class destroyers (if nowhere near the same capability).

On that note, on the left what the USN was building in 1991 vs. on the right what the PLA Navy was building then...

...aaaand on the left what the USN is building now vs. on the right what the PLA Navy is building now 😐

To clarify, the comparisons above weren't to poke at the Burke class, which has been a fantastic success, nor to minimize the advances in the Flight III or say whether a Type 055 is "better".
The point was to highlight the incredible strides the PLAN has made over that timeframe.

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