At the 2024 Western Pacific Naval Seminar, which opened on April 22, China welcomed visitors from all over the world as the host. Among the invited guests were the heavyweight admirals of some major powers, and the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Alexander Moiseev, not only personally led a delegation to visit China, but also arrived on the mainland a day ahead of schedule. In addition to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Chinese and Russian navies to further deepen mutual trust and cooperation in the military field, the Russian Navy, which urgently needs to replenish its combat power, is also full of interest in the mainland's foreign trade version of the warship 052DE. This time, the "China Aegis Ship" will once again become the focus of the world's attention.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has inherited much of the legacy of the Soviet Navy, but it has also slowed down the pace of development. Due to limited funding, most of the core technology and shipbuilding facilities were allocated to Ukraine. This has led to serious bleeding in the Russian military-industrial shipbuilding industry, and it has been difficult to add a few more decent large surface warships for many years, and even the only aircraft carrier has been constantly in trouble. Although it is said that the nuclear submarines of the Russian Navy are still a trump card, enough to compete with the United States, this is a "magic weapon of the country" and will not be used until the critical moment. Especially after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Russian Navy, which was already badly damaged, suffered heavy losses. Due to the lack of a powerful air defense system, the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy has been constantly attacked by drones, unmanned boats and missiles of the Ukrainian army, and even the flagship cruiser "Moskva" has been sunk. The defeat on the battlefield also completely woke up Russia. The top of the Russian Navy is also fully aware of the importance of developing large surface warships.
It's just that the current Russian shipbuilding industry is barely able to cope with the construction of small and medium-sized ships. At the end of 2023, the Russian Navy's 5,000-ton Project 22350 frigate will be put into service, and President Putin and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Moiseyev will be present in person, which is enough to see how much they attach importance to it, and it also reflects an embarrassing fact: there are really not many naval backgrounds of fighting nations. Since the Russian Ministry of Defense spends most of its funds on the research and development and construction of nuclear submarines for the Navy, it has been delayed in effectively improving Russia's surface combat forces.
In modern warfare, the main force destroyer is not only the key to gaining sea supremacy, but also indispensable in the field of anti-aircraft carrier operations and air defense operations. In particular, the Russian Navy, which has to deal with the threat of NATO, currently only has a complete lineup of the Northern Fleet, but the cards in its hands have bottomed out. Several of the main warships in service, or old cruisers with weak air defense, are simply not able to withstand NATO's naval and air threats.
Since you can't do your own research, external procurement is undoubtedly the best way. For well-known reasons, Russia is sanctioned and isolated by the entire US and Western camps, and there are not many countries that can develop and build large surface warships, leaving hostile countries behind, only China can be trusted, and the mainland's 052D destroyer is originally a world-class warship, and after continuous upgrades, it has entered the fourth batch of construction stages, "China Aegis Ship" The reputation is abroad, and the 052DE foreign trade version launched on this basis is known as the world's strongest foreign trade regional air defense destroyer, and its performance and combat power are beyond doubt, and there is no shortage of potential buyers in the market.
Over the years, the relationship between China and Russia has become increasingly close, the military mutual trust between the two sides has been deepened, and a series of major events such as the strategic cruise of the Chinese and Russian navies and the signing of memorandums of understanding have greatly increased the possibility of this arms sales cooperation. According to the development plan of the Russian Navy, in the future, it will also focus on building an offshore fleet and underwater ocean-going nuclear submarines. From a technical point of view, the 052DE is undoubtedly the best choice. Even, after the purchase of 052DE, the Russian military industrial department can refer to and learn from the mainland's achievements in cutting-edge fields such as radar and electronic technology, which have always been Russia's shortcomings.
In terms of budget, we all know that Russia is not rich, and the budget that can be used to purchase large warships is obviously not too much, and the cost-effective advantage of 052DE solves this problem. Previously, according to foreign media reports, even with the addition of hypersonic anti-ship missiles, the selling price of 052DE is only between 1 billion and 1.2 billion US dollars, and China can configure equipment according to the different needs of customers. In terms of the stable development of the relationship between China and Russia, even if the fighting nation cannot afford it, it can still "save the country" through channels such as energy trade. Once the Russian Navy has 052DE, the United States and other NATO countries should not sleep well again.