At
the Dubai IDEX defense exposition, arms makers from around the world
show off their latest wares. A notable debut at the recent 2017 show: a
new, triple hulled Chinese warship design.
IDEX 2017: Chinese Navy to acquire new trimaran hull frigate. https://t.co/mmgwvy3VQh pic.twitter.com/KuSgh9P0Rm— dafeng cao (@xinfengcao) February 21, 2017
So what exactly are trimaran ships? The major distinction is they three hulls: one large, central one and two rearward smaller hulls connected by decks or girders. The design is used in the U.S. Navy's new USS Independence subclass of the Littorial Combat Ship, and in fact the new Chinese ship looks very similar to that class.
The design means the ships have the advantage of a wider deck to operate more aircraft; this frigate design has a two-door hangar for helicopters and vertical take-off landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Trimarans can also reach higher speeds, due to the reduced drag of having three hulls instead of a single wider one.
The
Chinese trimaran frigate will be about 465 feet long, and has a beam of
105 feet and a weight of 2,450 tons. Interestingly, it may be the first
Chinese warship to use an integrated electrical propulsion system
(IEPS) to provide the power for driving its three pumpjets. It is
unclear if the announced 2,450-ton displacement is full or light.
If
we're comparing the vessel to the USS Independence subclass of the
Littorial Combat Ship, the latter is designed as a high-speed platform,
with a top speed estimated at 50 knots, which is faster than the Chinese
trimaran frigate's announced 30-35-knot top speed. The Chinese trimaran
frigate is far more heavily armed for conventional warfare; the
American ship mounts only a 57mm cannon plus provisions for anti-ship
missiles while the Chinese ship boasts the capacity for a 76mm cannon,
anti-ship missiles, and vertical-launching system cells for carrying
anti-ship, land attack cruise and anti-air missiles.
That being said, the USS Independence offers the flexibility of changing out mission modules (such as between anti-submarine and mine countermeasure missions). This flexibility may be overstated, however, as both trimaran designs have wide decks for intensive helicopter operations, and the Chinese version also appears to have ample cargo spaces to embark maritime special forces and unmanned surface and underwater systems.
#IDEX2017: #PLANavy to Acquire New #Trimaran Hull #Frigate@defencepkhttps://t.co/SNCVRa0q6a pic.twitter.com/fRhIfbx27m— ISS Naval News (@NavalNews) February 21, 2017
That being said, the USS Independence offers the flexibility of changing out mission modules (such as between anti-submarine and mine countermeasure missions). This flexibility may be overstated, however, as both trimaran designs have wide decks for intensive helicopter operations, and the Chinese version also appears to have ample cargo spaces to embark maritime special forces and unmanned surface and underwater systems.
Weibo
Double Duty
The trimaran frigate has room for two helicopter hangars, which
hold multi-role helicopter and unmanned aircraft systems for mine
countermeasure missions, attacks, transportation, and search and rescue
missions.
#Defense #News App: https://t.co/IVgzeMPHoK ; #idex 2017: chinese #navy to acquire new #trimaran hull #frigate pic.twitter.com/nz0fZf7ybb— The Military Feed (@themilitaryfeed) February 22, 2017
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