The last OB I saw of the PLA navy is 2/3 of her fleet is still from the 1970’s or prior. Luda need air cover and its ASW sonar sucks. They are very old ships. It is like taking a Fletcher class destroyer, give it upgraded electronics and SSM and declare it equal to an Ticonderoga CGM??!! China has the same problem faced by any nation that intends to build a world class navy, it costs more to replace old designs with modern designs. If China builds a new destroyer and retires an old destroyer, and expands the fleet once all the old destroyers are replaced, then your hyper alarm is justified. If the new Chinese ships are replacing old Soviet and Chinese design subs, destroyers, frigates and coastal missile/torpedo boats that is another story. Does that mean we ignore China completely, the answer is NO. China’s expanding into carrier aviation, carriers, ocean going amphib ships needs to be paid attention to. But to declare that she now possesses the ability to take on the US navy is a bit premature. A Varyag class carrier may intimidate Vietnam/Phillipines, but not Japan and South Korea. Definitely not the US Navy.
If China builds four Nimitz class carriers, more nuc subs plus all the auxillary ships to support them guarded by squadrons of destroyers and frigates plus means to support it beyond China Sea (like bases stocked with shops, parts, personnel). Yeah, China is a serious guy on the block. Today I say monitor China, but I would not be screaming alarm yet. In the mean time the US needs to resolve its debts and deficits. Anything that will cripple US Defense is our deficits and debts.
Actually, if you go to the site referenced by this thread you will find out differently...and I know of NO ONE who has implied that any Luda under any circumstances is equal to or like a Tico Cruiser. I have no idea where that statement came from.
I have stated that the newer DDGs, the Lanzhou Class of which eight have now been built (six in the last two years) are their version of AEGIS with Battle Management, PARs and VLS. They are not the equal of AEGIS, but they are no longer anything close to 25 years behid us either...they are catching up rapidly and have vessels now that are a viable threat to our forces.
Their new FFGs are better than the current Perrys, particularly after we stripped them of even thier single arm launchers.
Right now there are still twelve Luda class, which have had modern SSMs and newer sensors added. This allows them to be more effective when operating with their brand new units because they can get their targeting from the other assets which they lack.
So, 12 Ludas, or Type 051 DDGs.
In terms of more modern DDGs with much more modern sensors, bettwr weapons fit, much better ASW capabilities, the have the following:
Lanzhou Class, Type 052C DDGs - 8
Guangzhouo Class Type 052B DDGs - 2
Harbin Class Type 052 DDGs - 2
PLAN Proj 956(E) Sovremmeny DDGs - 4
Luzhou Class Type 051C DDGs - 2
Luhai Class Type 051B DDGs - 1
So, that’s 19 much newer more modern DDGs and 12 old DDGs for a total of 31...meaning they have built nineteen new DDGs in the space of time that they disposed of only four of the old Ludas...that’s not a replacement strategy, that is a high growth strategy.
Similar is occuring with the Frigates (FFGs). The older FFGs, like the ludas are the Type 053 class. Newer version were steadly introduced until the type 053H and Ks became fairly modern. The older ones, similar to the Ludas are the Jianghu class. The newer ones of the Type 053 (Hs and Ks) are the Jiangwei Class.
The PLAN built 53 of the older Jianghu Class of which 28 are still in service, having been modernised with newer SSms and sensors like the Ludas.
The more modern Jiangwei Class had 14 built of which all 14 are still in service.
Since that time the PLAN has embarked on a serious, very nmodern campaign of FFG build, the Type 054(A) clases.
Two of the type 054 Class were built and now 16 of the much more capable Type 054A class have been launched in the last five years, at about three per year.
This means that the PLAN who had 53 older type FFGs, now has 60 frigates of which 28 are the older type and 32 are the newer type which means in the time they disposed of 25 old frigates, they built 32 new ones. Again, not a replacement strategy but a growth strategy.
Same is true in the Diesel Electric Submairine area where we find them adding far more new AIP SSs than they are dispoing of older ones. And the nuclear sub SSN and SSBN is a pure growth areana for them too.