Recently, the Global Network relayed an article in the Russian media, which analyzed and discussed issues related to the trade in naval weapons and equipment between the two countries. The original text pointed out that in the current situation of China's military shipbuilding industry booming, while the Russian shipbuilding industry is gradually shrinking, the Russian Navy can purchase large ships of a certain scale from China to make up for the lack of its own shipbuilding strength. As soon as the article was published, it triggered a heated discussion among the people of the two countries. Especially in the mainland, there is also a lot of discussion about the use of domestically produced 055 and 052D destroyers, even 054A frigates, or 901 large supply ships, large hospital ships, and derivative export models. However, I am afraid that things are not as simple as they come to mind.
A report sparked heated discussion in public opinion
In this article from the Russian media "Репортёр", the author believes that the Russian Navy can first purchase similar hospital ships, supply ships and other tonnage is large, Russia is basically unable to build, and at the same time, different from the main battleship ships, the technology is not so sensitive, the cost is not high auxiliary ships, so that the two countries gradually accumulate cooperation experience in trade. As for large and medium-sized mainframes such as destroyers and frigates, Russia still has a wealth of experience and capabilities, and does not need to purchase from the mainland in the short term. It should be said that the basis of these two points in the article is very reasonable, and it is more in line with the current situation of the military shipbuilding industry and the needs of the navy of the two countries. The only question is whether the Russian Navy really needs large auxiliary ships like the 40,000-ton Type 901 integrated ocean-going comprehensive supply ship of the Continental Navy and the 14,000-ton Type 920 hospital ship at present?
Domestic type 901 ocean-going comprehensive supply ship
After the Russian Navy completed the last Cruiser left by the Soviet Union in the late 1990s, it never received a newly built large surface ship. The 4,000-ton Type 22,350 frigate, developed after 2001, has only been in service for more than 20 years. The 20380/20385 type frigates of the 2000 ton class have less than 10 in service so far. Today, the russian navy service of more than 6,000 tons of large and medium-sized destroyers, cruisers, all are Soviet era built models, most of the launch time has been more than 30 years. In recent years, although some of them have been modernized, not only the progress of transformation is slow and the number is not much, but also the transformation on such an old platform has limited the improvement of combat effectiveness.
Chinese and Russian naval vessels have recently had two "same frames", one in late 2021, when the mainland Type 055 Nanchang ship led a team to Russia and conducted a joint military exercise with the Russian fleet led by the Russian Pacific Fleet flagship "Varyag" cruiser in the Sea of Japan; the other time in early 2022, the Mainland Navy Type 052D Urumqi ship passed by the Varyag during the escort to the Gulf of Aden. The comparison of the two "same frames" can clearly see the gap between the two.
The "Peace Ark" hospital ship is actually named "Daishan Island" and has a displacement of up to 14,000
Despite this, the Russian Navy has spared no effort in developing an underwater nuclear submarine force, especially the 955/955A type "North Wind God" class strategic nuclear submarines, which are recognized as the fourth generation of the world's standard. With an underwater displacement of more than 24,000 tons, it has become recognized as the most advanced strategic nuclear submarine in the U.S. Navy's "Columbia" class strategic nuclear submarine while it is still under construction. The "God of the North Wind" has begun to build 10 ships, of which 5 have already entered service. In addition, the 885/885M "Yasen" class attack nuclear submarines cooperated with the "North Wind God" class have quite good performance, with an underwater displacement of about 13,800 tons, and the overall level has basically reached the height of the new generation of "Virginia" class attack nuclear submarines in the United States.
A visual contrast between the Urumqi and varyags
As a result, there has been polarization in the Russian Navy's ships: surface ships have developed slowly, and the tonnage of newly built warships is small, and they are still dominated by old ships; while underwater strategic nuclear submarines and attack nuclear submarines have developed rapidly, their tonnage and technical level are quite excellent, and a number of old 667-type "Deleta" class and 941 "Typhoon" class nuclear submarines are rapidly eliminated. The fundamental reason behind this distinct phenomenon of differentiation is, on the one hand, because the construction facilities and technologies of surface ships in the Soviet era are left in Ukraine, so that Russia lacks the ability to quickly build a large number of surface ships, while the nuclear submarine manufacturing and design institutions are almost all located in Russia, with a good foundation for development; on the other hand, the most critical factor is that the overall national defense strategy of the Russian Navy has changed from the global expansion of the Soviet union to today's regional strategic defense.
The "North Wind God" class is currently the most advanced strategic nuclear submarine
During the Cold War era, the Soviet Navy's primary combat goal was to fight a decisive battle with the U.S. Navy in the ocean, for which it developed 12,000-ton "Glory" class guided missile cruisers, 24,000 tons of "Kirov" class nuclear-powered cruisers, as well as 40,000 tons of "Kiev" class aircraft carriers, 60,000 tons of "Kuznetsov" class aircraft carriers. Correspondingly, a large number of destroyers and ocean-going supply ships are naturally needed as auxiliaries. However, russia's economic downturn after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the sharp decline in overall military capabilities, Russia's inability to maintain its previously large global navy, and the growing military threat in its European direction forced it to concentrate its already small military resources on the army and the air force.
The towering Type 667 "Deleta" class with its back is running out
In this case, the Russian Navy is actually unable to take into account the development of surface warships and underwater submarines, otherwise it will put both in trouble. After some painful decision-making, the Russian Navy finally chose to take strategic nuclear submarines as the core, guarantee the sea-based secondary nuclear counterattack capability to conform to the overall strategy of the Russian army, and at the same time vigorously develop attack nuclear submarines as an auxiliary force for strategic nuclear submarines. The development of surface ships can only be in a secondary position, and eventually through the construction of 2,000-ton and 4,000-ton small and medium-sized frigates, the control of the coastal and parts of the central and offshore waters is maintained. This strategy is a more reasonable regional defensive choice of the Russian Navy according to its own actual situation and the overall strategic needs of the Russian army.
The High Hopes for the Type 22350 are not in service
Therefore, for the Russian Navy, which is currently mainly operating in the middle and offshore seas, typical ocean-going equipment such as 40,000-ton ocean-going supply ships and large hospital ships is completely incompatible with its combat needs. Unless the Russian Navy resumes its ocean-going combat capabilities and its operational positioning moves towards global navies, there will be neither the resources to procure nor the need to equip such large auxiliary ships in the short term.
As for the domestic 055 and 052D destroyers, although the performance is also quite good, especially the comprehensive performance of the 055 ranks among the top three in the world, but for the Russian Navy, there is no corresponding demand, and there is basically no possibility of procurement in the short term. As for the 054AP frigates similar to those exported to Pakistan, it is completely within the scope of Russia's capabilities, and the 4,000-ton 22350 type frigates it has built in recent years, although the displacement is not large, but the performance is still very sharp, especially the "Zircon" hypersonic anti-ship missile, which is second to none in the world, and there is no possibility of purchasing from China in this field.
The first ship of the Type 22350 that launched the "Zircon" hypersonic anti-ship missile
In fact, although the Russian Navy lost the ability to build aircraft carriers and large cruisers, it also built two 8,000-ton "Hyundai" class destroyers for the Continental Navy in 2003, which is quite good in terms of construction speed, quality, and overall performance, indicating that Russia has not completely lost the ability to build large destroyers. Over the years, the most fundamental reason for the shrinkage of its surface ship force, especially the large surface ships, is still the adjustment of the Russian Navy's strategy. Although due to differences in naval needs and ship performance characteristics, it is difficult for China and Russia to achieve rapid and effective cooperation in the fields of destroyers, frigates, hospital ships, supply ships, etc., but the two countries are not without areas of trade in the field of naval equipment.
The "Hyundai" class destroyer was once the "fist" of the Chinese Navy.
Before the "Репортёр" article, Russian media said that the Service Life of the Chinese Navy's "Liaoning" aircraft carrier has exceeded 30 years, and it is expected to enter the end of service in 2030, plus the new generation of domestic aircraft carriers will also reach a higher level, so it is very likely that the "Liaoning" will be decommissioned later, and reselled to the Russian Navy after a certain modification. However, this view is more bold and less likely to be realized than the "Репортёр" trade cooperation on supply ships and hospital ships. The problem exposed behind it is that Russia has basically lost the ability to build large surface main battleships. Therefore, the area where the two countries can really cooperate, and which is urgently needed by the Russian Navy at present, is actually the 40,000-ton Type 075 amphibious assault ship.
The "Liaoning" aircraft carrier once became the wild hope of the Russian Navy
During the 2008 war with Georgia, the Russian Navy realized that the amphibious landing ship force inherited from the Soviet era was no longer suitable for the needs of modern warfare. Especially in the case of the opponent's ability to destroy the port and delay the landing of the opponent, a modern ship that can carry out vertical landing operations such as an amphibious assault ship is very necessary for the modernization process of the Russian Navy and also meets the needs of the complex situation in many waters around Russia. Therefore, after some research, the Russian Navy finally decided to purchase 4 "Northwest Wind" class amphibious assault ships from France. Among them, the first 2 were built in France and the tail section of the "Northwest Wind" was built by Russia, and the last 2 were built in Russia by Providing Technology and Core Components from France to help the Russian shipbuilding industry restore the construction capacity of large warships.
The French Northwest Wind class amphibious assault ship was eventually sold to Egypt
After the signing of the agreement between the two sides, the Russian Navy made intensive preparations to accept the "Northwest Wind", and on the basis of the Ka-52 gunship, developed the carrier-based Ka-52K, and sent a group of naval officers and men to France for training. However, with the changes in the international situation in 2014, the first 2 "Northwest Winds", which had been basically completed, finally failed to deliver to the Russian Navy, and France, after several months of hesitation, declared the deal void. After refunding most of the cost to Russia, the 2 Northwest Wind classes were resold to Egypt, and the construction of the last 2 Northwest Winds was also unsuccessful. Russia's first attempt to acquire a modern amphibious assault ship failed.
The Ka-52K was originally prepared for the Northwest Wind amphibious assault ship
Spurred by the failure of the deal, the Russian Navy is determined to develop large amphibious assault ships on its own, and has repeatedly shown the corresponding design models to the outside world, but so far, there has been no definite progress. At the same time, the development of the 40,000-ton Type 075 amphibious assault ship built by the mainland has been unusually smooth, with the first ship launched in September 2019 and officially entering the navy in April 2021. The overall performance of the Type 075 is directly comparable to the world's most recognized "American" class amphibious assault ship, with a tonnage of nearly twice that of the French "Northwest Wind", which can fully meet the amphibious combat needs of the Russian Navy.
Moreover, in less than two years, the mainland has launched 3 075s, indicating that the construction strength is very strong and can meet the ordering and transformation needs of international buyers. In addition, at the end of 2021, the mainland also launched a type 071E dock landing ship (an export model derived from the 071) planned to be delivered to Thailand, which further accumulated the export experience of large amphibious ships.
The Kirov-class nuclear-powered cruisers remain the nucleus of the Russian Navy to this day
At present, the Russian Navy does have an urgent need for amphibious assault ships, and the possibility of its own design and construction is minimal, while China has 075, which is an advanced mature model, the shipbuilding strength is very strong, the construction speed and quality can be guaranteed, and there is a corresponding export experience, which can be described as "everything is ready, only the East Wind is owed." Therefore, the export model derived on the basis of the domestic 075 may be the most likely and well-prepared area in the field of naval equipment of the two countries, and it is obviously much more reliable than the illusory supply ship, hospital ship, and destroyer transaction. Of course, as a highly complex large-scale military equipment transaction, the influencing factors behind it are destined to be more than just performance indicators, cost and relationship between the two sides.
The performance of the 075 is sufficient to meet the needs of the Russian Navy
Russia was born out of the disintegrated Soviet Union, itself still has a huge military system derived from the Soviet era, especially in the past 30 years, Russia has exported a large number of advanced weapons and equipment to the mainland, around 2000, has exported 4 8000-ton "Hyundai" class destroyers and 12 3000 tons "Kilo" class submarines to the mainland. Nowadays, the original "teacher" and "big brother" suddenly purchase large-scale naval equipment from "students" and "little brothers", and the ideological burden is indeed relatively heavy.
In fact, when the Russian Navy built the Type 21631 missile ship, it first used diesel engines from Germany, which did not cause any waves within Russia. When Germany announced that it refused to continue to provide, the Russian Navy was in a hurry to purchase civilian diesel engines produced on the mainland, which caused an uproar within Russia. In the end, the construction of the boat was delayed, and after undergoing a third change in the power plan, it was only after the incident in which the Russian warship used a Chinese diesel engine ended. The diesel engines of small missile boats can cause such a big wave inside Russia, and if the 40,000-ton amphibious assault ship is purchased, the controversy can be imagined.
The Type 21631 missile ship, which has caused heated discussions because of its carrying Chinese diesel engines
In fact, just before the publication of this article, the Russian Navy rarely used three "Glory" class cruisers as the core, dispatched more than 20 large and medium-sized ships to gather in the Mediterranean Sea and expressed its attitude towards the surrounding situation with practical actions. This scale and intensity is the russian navy's unique large-scale ship group activity in recent years. The action itself is clearly a demonstration of strength and a declaration of attitude. Although it is a warning to the Western forces dominated by NATO, but in turn, it also shows the Russian military's firm defense of the dignity and status of its own strength, in this case, if Chinese ships want to export to Russia, even the most theoretical conditions of the 075 foreign trade model, it seems to face great resistance.
Therefore, if domestic ships can really be exported to the northern neighbors, it is of course a great advantage, which can be regarded as the most direct recognition of their own strength after more than 20 years of bulk procurement of the "Modern" class and the "Kilo" class. And the recognition from the Russian Navy also means that our domestic warships have been affirmed by heavyweight international users, and the role of promoting exports after that is self-evident.
Russian naval vessels gathered in large numbers in the Mediterranean
Even if the Russian media speculate that the deal is only a bubble in the end, there is no need to be disappointed. With the steady progress of the subsequent models of the new generation of domestic aircraft carriers, Type 055 destroyers, and 075 amphibious assault ships, it is only a matter of time before the Chinese Navy really goes to the open sea. Today's Chinese navy, unlike 20 years ago, can only rely on Russia's "Hyundai" class destroyers and "Kilo" class submarines as a psychological barrier against hegemony. Today's Chinese Navy has completed the growth and reform of maritime power with lightning speed, and there are more, newer and more revolutionary maritime equipment coming one after another. Procurement transactions from the north of the country can only be counted as the icing on the cake, and it does not matter if I am fortunate to lose it. This is probably where we have always adhered to independence and autonomy for decades and have made one major achievement after another.