In 2020, the Chinese People Liberation Army’s Navy (PLAN) received quite a few surface warships.
It specifically received the most project 056 corvettes to date for a single year.
The year has been quite big for the Chinese Navy, and there’s also a plan of what’s to be accepted into the PLAN throughout 2021, which can be seen below:
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China’s rapid expansion of the People’s Liberation Army Navy drew major concern from the Pentagon in 2020.
“The PRC has the largest navy in the world, with an overall battle force of approximately 350 ships and submarines including over 130 major surface combatants. In comparison, the U.S. Navy’s battle force is approximately 293 ships as of early 2020. China is the top ship-producing nation in the world by tonnage and is increasing its shipbuilding capacity and capability for all naval classes,” reads the Pentagon’s annual China military power report.
China is expanding its fleet in every area.
“It’s important to highlight the Chinese shipbuilding advantages in terms of its size of the fleet, is both in context of the broader modernization ambitions, virtual class military. This is a long-term challenge, and it’s not only demarcated by a single variable, which would be total number of vessels, tonnage capacity, capabilities, location, posture, activities, and then other aspects,” Chad Sbragia, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, said in September.
In addition to aircraft carriers, the PLAN kept up a high rate of construction throughout 2020.
The report highlighted the launch of almost two dozen Luyang III guided-missile destroyers, the commissioning of the 30th Jiangkai II-class guided-missile frigate, the construction of six Renhai guided-missile cruisers and the entrance more than 40 Jiangdao corvettes into the PLAN fleet.
China is also expanding its amphibious fleet, marked by the start of sea trials for the Type-075 big-deck amphibious warship. The Congressional Research Service tied the development of the Type-075 and the Type-071 amphibious warship to Beijing’s desire to reunite with Taiwan.
“The Type 075 would be of value for conducting amphibious landings in Taiwan-related conflict scenarios, some observers believe that China is building such ships as much for their value in conducting other operations, such as operations for asserting and defending China’s claims in the South and East China Seas, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) operations, maritime security operations (such as antipiracy operations), and noncombatant evacuation operations (NEOs),” the report reads.
China is also looking to expand its submarine force.
“The PLAN currently operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) with two additional hulls fitting out, six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), and 50 diesel-powered attack submarines (SSs). The PLAN will likely maintain between 65 and 70 submarines through the 2020s, replacing older units with more capable units on a near one-to-one basis,” reads the report.
In 2020, the PLA navy was replenished with 24 surface ships of various classes. This year, the Chinese military shipbuilding set a kind of record for the project 056 corvettes transferred to the fleet – 15 units.
Below is a list of the warships and events in which the PLAN received them:
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- On January 10, 2020, at the naval base in Guangzhou, a solemn ceremony was held for the introduction of two corvettes of Project 056A Ganzhou (hull number 620) and Panzhihua (hull number 621) into the PLA’s Southern Fleet.
- On January 12th, 2020, at the main naval base of the Northern Fleet of the PLA Navy in Qinado, a solemn ceremony was held for the entry into the Chinese Navy of the first destroyer of Project 055 Nanchang (hull number 101).
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- The Project 056A corvette Luan (hull number 611). Entered the Eastern Fleet of the PLA Navy in January 2020.
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- The Project 056A corvette Liaocheng (hull number 608) entered the Eastern Fleet of the PLA Navy in January 2020.
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- The Project 056 corvette Xiaogan (hull number 615) It entered the Eastern Fleet of the PLA Navy at the beginning of 2020.
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- The Project 056 corvette Taiyan (hull number 616). Entered the Eastern Fleet of the PLA Navy at the beginning of 2020.
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- The Project 056 corvette Enshi (hull number 627). Entered the PLA’s Southern Fleet in the middle of 2020.
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- The Project 056 corvette Zhangjiakou (hull number 605). Entered the Northern Fleet of the PLA Navy in the middle of 2020.
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- The Project 056 corvette Jingdezhen (hull number 617). Entered the Eastern Fleet of the PLA Navy in June 2020.
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- The Project 056 corvette Guang’an (hull number 622). Entered the PLA Southern Fleet in August 2020.
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- The Project 056 corvette Yongzhou (hullnumber 628). Entered the PLA’s Southern Fleet in mid-2020.
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- The Project 056 corvette Mudanjiang (tail number 604). Entered the PLA’s Northern Fleet in mid-2020.
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- The Project 056 corvette Suizhou (hull number 624). Entered the PLA Southern Fleet in mid-2020.
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- Two destroyers URO project 052DL “Qiqihar” and “Tangshan” (hull numbers 121, 122) with an extended helipad and modernized radar weapons entered the Northern Fleet of the PLA Navy in mid-2020.
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- The Project 056 corvettes Songyuan and Pingdingshan (hull numbers 602, 600). Entered the Northern Fleet of the PLA Navy in mid-2020.
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- In July 2020, the seventh project 071 landing helicopter dock Siminshan (hull number 986) entered the Eastern Fleet of the PLA Navy.
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- In October 2020, the eighth project 071 landing helicopter dock Tsilyanshan (hull number 985) entered the PLA’s Southern Fleet.
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- The People Liberation Navy’s twelfth minesweeper, the project 082II mine finder, built at the Guangzhou Huangpu Shipbuiding Company in Guangzhou, became part of the PLA’s Southern Fleet in November 2020.
- In December 2020, two hospital ships of the new project 919 were introduced to the PLA’s Southern Fleet. The new hospital ships Southern Medicine 12 and Southern Medicine 13 were built at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group in Shanghai and have a displacement of 6,000 tons. It is reported that the new ships will serve as part of the PLA’s Southern Fleet, whose operational zone includes the disputed reefs in the Spratly archipelago and the Paracel Islands.
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China’s shipbuilding capacity and economic output exceeds the US capacity across the board. If US wanted to build more surface ships and submarines, it does not have the industrial manufacturing capacity to do so.
You can bet the Yank MIC will say they can and get given billions in taxpayer dollars to pretend they can though.
We will be busier busier busier!
Doing what for I see they have stopped all production of the F-35 I guess they found out what a lemon it was and the dealers wouldn’t take them back,just more American shoddy designs that cost the taxpayer trillions and they wonder why we are broke.!!!
Aircraft carriers are floating coffins and only good against defenseless nations. Yet China is planning to have a least 5 of them. Why is the question ?
A single carrier is… a battlegroup isnt.
I’m certain FoW is implying battlegroups whenever mentioning carriers.
Of course. LXXIII must be new here.
Because very few nations can field the sort of advanced ASHMs (anti ship missiles) that can reliably take down large carriers. Russia has them, as does China. The US doesn’t as it relies on naval aviation to do its offense and its anti-ship missiles are sub-par (old junk like Harpoon or Tomahawks can readily be intercepted by a capable AD).
Hypersonic PGMs like the Russian Zircon will make large carriers vulnerable and essentially obsolete in peer-to-peer engagements, but they are still useful in flying the flag and keeping the smaller nations in line.
Part of your answer makes sense. ” keeping the smaller nations in line “
Because is the answer.
Definitely an exciting area to watch. Although the Chinese may have these shiny new toys and do hold many exercises, they’re still an unproven military power. Don’t bother bringing up the recent incident with India as it doesn’t even qualify as a military spat; more like a drunken bar brawl.
In any case, I’m excited to see when they roll out their latest stealth naval fighter and their strategic bomber. I expect the Chinese to reveal the H-20 when the US rolls out the B-21. The construction of their third carrier is moving much slower than expected but moving along.
Probably most of them will sink during sea trials because they were msmade in such a hurry lol.
How is the Vikrant coming along? LOL!! Massively behind schedule and over budget…
You Indians should stick to what you are good at. Make me a lamb rojan josh and a garlic narn. I want it pronto.
He’s no Indian, just another troll.
waiting too long to act on this growing threat will be a permanent mistake.
parasites using up all the earth’s resources attempting to be the last parasites standing before extinction.