A few days ago, someone discovered a new warship that had returned from a trial voyage near a shipyard in Shanghai. Although it was not news to see the brand new 054A near Zhonghua in eastern Shanghai, the 054A's completely different hull number spray painting style, the disappearance of the domestically produced top plate 382 radar on the top of the main mast, the launch frame in the middle of the hull that was completely different from the YJ-83 missile, and the remote warning radar assumed separately in front of the helicopter hangar all explained its identity in detail.

This is the first ship of the Type 054AP frigate ordered by the Pakistani Navy from our country. All sea trials before delivery have been completed. This time, it is ready to be handed over to the customer and then returned to its home port by the Pakistani crew. According to the time disclosed by enthusiastic Pakistani military enthusiasts on the internet, the commissioning ceremony should be held next week; The Ba Navy is about to introduce a new absolute main force.

From the photos taken after this trial voyage, we can also see more clearly and distinctly the differences between the completed 054AP and our military's self use models. It can be said that anti-ship, air defense, and anti submarine capabilities have been comprehensively strengthened, and it has reached the absolute top configuration of the 4000 ton frigate platform 054A under China's finished product technology capabilities.

Compared to the self use model, the addition of a millimeter wave remote warning radar at the rear is very similar to the one installed by our military on the 052C/D. Although Pakistan currently does not face the threat of Indian stealth aircraft, this remote warning radar has made significant improvements in terms of increasing the ship's air surveillance distance and other performance aspects. Replacing the 382 roof three coordinate radar with the SR2410C phased array radar, although there is not much improvement in detection distance, significantly enhances multi-target tracking capability. Combined with the millimeter wave radar to provide remote warning, the 054AP has much better air detection capability than the self use model; Although the anti-aircraft missiles and guidance radar have not been further upgraded, considering platform redundancy and India's actual threat level, the performance of the Hongqi-16 is already sufficient. At least the Su-30 of the Indian Air Force no longer has the ability to engage in anti-ship operations such as dropping BrahMos beyond the detection range of Pakistani radar.

Compared to the upgraded detection but no upgraded strike in air defense, the 054AP has undergone a cross generational upgrade in anti-ship equipment. From the previous generation tactical anti-ship missile, the YJ-83, which was a full range subsonic terminal supersonic missile, to the YJ-12, which has a full range supersonic breakthrough and improved warhead charge and range, the combat tactical anti-ship resilience has undoubtedly been much stronger. It is also an advanced equipment in our army; In this way, facing various isolated ships of the Indian army, there are many threats, which can be said to be tailor-made for the Pakistani navy.

We export large and medium-sized surface vessels, as well as frigates, to our old customers. We have much more sincerity towards Pakistan than towards Russia and India. We export the 054AP to Pakistan, which is equipped with radar and missiles. The performance of various subsystems is even better than that of our military's own. Russia exports the 11356 to India, which is different!

The closed stern has been changed to a semi open one, and the pyramid shaped closed main mast has also been cut into a truss mast. Although there is a vertical launch version of the 3S90 missile, the export version is equipped with a tilted launch frame. These minor optimizations in design details fully ensure that the export version obtained by India has slightly inferior stealth performance and air defense capabilities compared to the Russian military's own models. This is called absolute care for old friends in strategy and old customers in arms sales.

Of course, there are also many people who are envious of Pakistan's export versions that use such high-end configurations. They want to upgrade our 054A to the top configuration as well; It is unnecessary to say that it is true. The position of 054A in our army is completely different from that of 054AP in the Pakistani army.

This enhanced design that focuses on the main force of commuter ships can be said to be completely customized for export users. The People's Navy has now established a two-level system that separates decisive battle ships from commuter ships. The fleet has specialized anti-aircraft destroyers to provide regional air defense cover, and there is also a complete anti-ship system. Developing versatile escort ships is a waste of money.

For our military, the 054A has two different roles. On one hand, it serves as a commuter ship, carrying out sea power maintenance tasks and maintaining transportation lines; On duty patrol to ensure smooth sailing and break through, this level of threat does not require heavy armament, but more importantly, good airworthiness and living conditions. On the other hand, before the next generation of general-purpose destroyers are put into service and the fleet has no professional anti submarine ships, it is necessary to undertake professional anti submarine tasks as a fleet anti submarine ship.

At this time, remote air defense surveillance and fleet regional air defense cover can be provided by 052C/D or even 055 to provide air intelligence support. Information can be shared through data links, and there is no need to worry about anti-ship. The YJ-83 can be used to strike small boats, and fleet operations can be solved by the YJ-18 or even the future YJ-21 equipped with vertical firing systems on destroyers.

For Pakistan, it is impossible to afford, let alone maintain, even the main fleet vessels at the 052C/D level. Having several versatile anti-aircraft, anti-ship, and anti submarine ships as the absolute core of the navy is certainly a necessary and only realistic choice. Moreover, the positioning of the Pakistani Navy is relatively simple and direct, as long as it can resist India's use of its naval advantages to carry out far-reaching and even close sea blockades against Pakistan; It is sufficient to annihilate India's blockade forces and carry out anti blockade operations with the cooperation of the air force.

In this regard, the 054AP, which immediately ushered the Pakistani Navy into the era of regional air defense and supersonic anti-ship, is a truly conscientious equipment, with a status similar to the first two Hyundai class ships purchased by our military in the past; And the quotation given by our country is also very sincere, fully reflecting the sincerity of our friends. (Colorful Tiger)

Source: Guoke Huanyu