Many sources of information say that a new Chinese warship with stealth characteristics appears to have just made its first test voyage.
According to The War Zone (TWZ), the design of the Chinese ship has some major similarities with Sweden’s Visby-class stealth corvettes, including a main gun hidden inside a low dome, but larger size. The speed with which this ship was built shows China’s scale and shipbuilding capabilities, posing major challenges to even the best-equipped opponents like the United States.
Just two weeks ago, Fujian, China’s first self-designed aircraft carrier, with aircraft catapults and other innovative technologies compared to the country’s navy’s previous aircraft carriers, commenced operations. begins the first sea trial.
Mysterious ship
Images of the mysterious ship have appeared on social networks since last weekend. It is still unclear when the ship left the port, where it went, and whether it returned to the port or not.
The first image of the ship appeared in November 2023, a photo of the Liaoning Shipyard, also known as the Liaoning South Dalian Shipyard. According to Tom Shugart, senior expert at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), satellite images show that the ship has been built there since at least August 2023.
Image of a mysterious stealth warship of the Chinese navy.
In addition to the main gun hidden in the bow, photos that appeared online last November showed a row of vertical launch tubes in front of the main superstructure and a helicopter flight deck at the stern. The ship’s design prioritizes stealth features, with an integrated mast structure on the cockpit roof, with no visible presence of main antennas and radar reflectors on the superstructure or surface. deck.
The hull is designed with flat and beveled surfaces, tilted inward from the middle hull upwards. Sweden’s Visbly-class stealth corvettes and the US Navy’s Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers both have a similar design form known as tumblehome language.
A Tumblehome is an architectural design that has planes or planes that slope inward from a certain point, creating a shape that gradually narrows toward the top. It is used in boat design, helping to improve stability and aerodynamic performance.
Mr. Shugart estimated China’s new stealth warship to be about 97 meters long based on comparisons with non-stealthy Type 056 corvettes (NATO designation Jiangdao class) also seen in satellite images. The Type 056 ship is 90 meters long and displaces about 1,500 tons. Liaoning Shipyard used to build Type 056 ships.
It is unclear what tasks the Chinese navy will use the new stealth ship for. Andreas Rupprecht, a longtime China observer and TWZ contributor, wrote on
Shugart also commented similarly. “There have been rumors that this design is some kind of test platform and this is entirely possible,” he said. “Or this could also be a new class of corvettes of the Chinese navy.
At this point, it’s hard to know for sure. We only see the construction of new ships of this type taking place only at the Dalian factory, while the construction of new Type 054B frigates is being carried out at many factories. Perhaps the Chinese navy will adopt a wait-and-see approach, as this is a quite different design, seemingly focused on features that are difficult to detect.”
Images of the mysterious ship appeared on Chinese social networks in late 2023.
“Wait and see” is the strategy of delaying making a decision or taking action until more information becomes available or until the situation becomes clearer. This approach is often used when there is a lot of uncertainty or risk involved in a situation. By waiting, the individual or organization can gather more information and better evaluate their options, thereby increasing their chances of making the right decision.
Still, the new class of stealth corvettes is expected to be very valuable to the Chinese navy and could be used in a number of roles, especially in coastal areas.
“Assuming this class will eventually replace China’s older corvettes, I think it will have escort, anti-submarine warfare and perhaps point air defense roles,” Shugart said . Warships tasked with point air defense are designed and equipped with anti-aircraft weapons to protect fleets or convoys from aerial attacks. Point air defense ships are typically small and maneuverable, equipped with radar, missiles, and anti-aircraft guns.
If Mr. Shugart’s comments are correct, the role of the new ship could be similar to the Type 056 corvettes with multi-mission capabilities in the Chinese navy.
At the end of 2021, this force transferred 22 Type 056 corvettes, the first of which was put into service in early 2013, to the maritime force. The Chinese Navy currently has 50 Type 056A corvettes in operation, the first of which was put into service at the end of 2014, mainly performing anti-submarine operations.
The new ship’s mission?
However, unlike the Type 056, the mystery ship’s stealth capabilities could be particularly attractive to the Chinese navy. The design does not make the ship invisible, but it is difficult to detect and classify on radar at long distances. For adversaries, it will be difficult to identify and attack this ship at long range in coastal areas because it blends in with smaller boats on radar and takes advantage of geographic confusion to avoid detection.
Geographic disturbance is a term used in the fields of radar and signal processing, describing unwanted radar signals generated by geographical objects such as mountains, hills, buildings, and trees. Geographic turbulence can obscure targets that the radar is trying to detect and track, reducing the performance of the radar system.
Visby-class stealth ship of the Swedish Navy.
Congested coastal areas, like those in the First Island Chain, the area within the belt that extends from the Kuril Islands through Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan and to the Philippines, are important for with the Chinese navy. Furthermore, the First Island Chain also stretches to the highly strategic East Sea. Beijing has illegally militarized much of the region through the construction of fortresses on artificial islands.
There is also the possibility that the Chinese navy will employ a new fleet of stealth corvettes for coastal defense, allowing other ships, such as Type 054A frigates, to carry out missions further offshore.
According to TWZ’s assessment, the appearance of stealth corvettes is in line with the ongoing trend in the world, when corvettes and frigates equipped with heavy weapons are increasingly popular.
In any case, there is no doubt that the development of the mysterious stealth ship has been extremely rapid – even by Shugart’s estimates.
“I first found out the ship was under construction last August and now we see the ship going through sea trials, nine months later,” he said.
This is a sign that China’s military shipbuilding speed has been increasing recently. Nearly a year ago, the US Office of Naval Intelligence warned that China’s shipbuilding speed is 200 times faster than the US and not only the quantity, but the quality of ships has also been raised to “at least in a certain aspect”.
“In contrast to China’s rapid shipbuilding pace, the US Navy’s new Constellation-class destroyer was initially expected to be completed in 48 months from start of construction to delivery, and now we have received the declaration. The announcement from the US Navy is that progress will be much slower than 48 months ,” said Mr. Shugart, a former US naval officer.
