Chapter 1081 The Craze for Copycat 055 Started

"What power system does our DDG-1000 use?" someone asked immediately.

This future destroyer has a larger displacement and will definitely need a stronger power system. Since there are no problems with its design, this kind of power system can also be used in this modified version of the Burke class.

"This destroyer plans to use two MT-30 gas turbines from the British Rolls-Royce Company. A single unit has an output power of 36 megawatts, and two units can output a power of 72 megawatts. Together with two auxiliary generators, the total power generation of the entire ship 80 MW. The design of the wave-piercing body has low resistance and is definitely sufficient. However, it is said that the development of this gas turbine has encountered many problems. In particular, this is a British engine. If we also use this kind of gas turbine, What about General Electric?"

If we want to say that the largest number of marine gas turbines are installed in the world, it must be the LM2500. When the prototype of this gas turbine was first manufactured in 1969, it only had 25,500 horsepower, or 18,755 kilowatts, and its efficiency was only 35.5%. .

But since that time, General Electric has continued to improve. By the 1990s, the power had increased to 30,000 horsepower, and it is currently the main model.

"British gas turbines can reach this level, and our gas turbines must be no problem," Swift said. "Call General Electric now and ask if they have more powerful models of gas turbines."

"yes."

The call was made, and soon the assistant became excited: "What, you already have an enhanced LM2500+ with an output power of 40,500 horsepower? Okay, got it!"

Forty thousand horsepower, which is close to 30 megawatts. If four units are used, it will be 120 megawatts, which is higher than the power of DDG-1000. This must be enough!

This is not the best. In the later period, in order to further consolidate its position in this field, General Electric developed the most advanced LM2500G4 gas turbine, with the power further increased to 34 MW, and the British MT30 gas turbine. The power output is similar, but the stability is much better.

From the initial 18.755 MW to the final 34 MW, the power of this gas turbine has almost doubled, which is enough to illustrate its tenacity. It shows that as long as there is a gas turbine and then gradually improved, it can meet the needs of continuous development.

After hearing this answer, Lucas was very excited: "Okay, then we will use four enhanced LM2500+. We must build a more advanced 10,000-ton destroyer, with performance far exceeding that of the Oriental warships!" "

Lucas looked at the photo again. The design of this warship was very reasonable, and he built it according to this design plan.

This is also normal. After all, unless the appearance of the warship is completely changed like DDG-1000, large-scale modifications can be made, such as placing the vertical beams on the sides, which requires the bottom of the hull to be larger than the top. That's okay, only the wave-piercing body can play like this, and everything above the waterline is tilted inward.

Dongfang's design is already the most suitable solution: behind the naval gun is a vertical engine unit, behind the bridge and in front of the helicopter hangar is a second vertical engine unit, in front of the second vertical engine is the gas turbine chimney, and in front of the chimney is Integrated RF mast and more.

No matter how much other designers change it, they can't come up with new tricks. Is it possible to move the hanging hair to the helicopter platform at the tail?

This is not a copycat 055 from Dongfang, this is how it was originally designed!

Almost at the same time, the British on the other side of the Atlantic also got this photo. Looking at the 10,000-ton cruise ship that had been launched, the British were jealous.

"Who allowed the Easterners to build a giant ship with a full load displacement of more than 12,000 tons? This is simply destroying the regional balance!" Benjamin gritted his teeth.

"Yeah, no one thought that Dongfang's main warship would actually cross the 10,000-ton mark, with more than a hundred vertical launch systems on it, and its combat effectiveness far exceeds our Type 45 destroyer." Michael Boyce said helplessly Said: "Although we don't admit it, the fact is that the Eastern warships have far surpassed ours."

The British want to restore their past glory and build a 65,000-ton Queen-class aircraft carrier. However, they have experienced too many twists and turns during the construction process. The aircraft carrier has not yet been launched. Look to the east. Not only two ships have been put into service. aircraft carrier, and the third one is still being built. Although this aircraft carrier has not been launched yet, looking at the prototype, it is already on the same level as the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier: it has a displacement of 100,000 tons and uses a nuclear power system!

Even if their Queen class is built, it is already outdated, not to mention that there are no carrier-based aircraft now.

Now, Dongfang has launched another 10,000-ton destroyer, and this kind of warship has also left their proud Type 45 destroyer far behind.

At the beginning, the British wanted to build large warships, but after building the Type 82 destroyer with a full load displacement of nearly 8,000 tons, they really couldn't afford it, so they could only lower the configuration and built the Type 42 destroyer of more than 4,000 tons. , in order to reduce weight, a large amount of aluminum alloy was used in the superstructure, which resulted in the tragedy of Sheffield.

Afterwards, in order to restore a strong navy, the British decided to take the path of large-scale warships. The newly developed Type 45 destroyer is a large warship with a full load displacement of more than 7,000 tons. In their eyes, this warship has advanced performance and can completely surpass the Type 052D destroyer of the East. Although it cannot compare with aircraft carriers, they still have the capital to be proud of destroyers.

Originally, according to the plan, the first Type 45 destroyer should have been launched long ago, but due to various delays, the first ship, the Courageous, was only cut last year. The first steel plate was cut and the construction started. The launch was delayed until about 2005. This has made them a little anxious. After all, according to their financial situation, they can only build six ships at most. Look at the Orientals. At the Qiongzhou Third Shipyard, six Type 052DLs were started at the same time. The East is really rich.

Although they cannot compare in quantity, the British can still comfort themselves that our warships have the strongest performance! But now, with the emergence of the Oriental 10,000-ton destroyer, these comforts have also disappeared.

No matter how you look at it, the British Type 45 destroyer cannot be compared with the 10,000-ton destroyer in the East!

"Of course not, our British Navy will never be outdone by the East. Call the designers of BAE immediately. We are going to launch a brand new warship with a full load displacement of more than 12,000 tons!" Benjamin said.

We are going to launch a brand new warship?

Boyce looked at Benjamin in surprise: "But we simply don't have the ability to continue to invest in the construction of 10,000-ton warships. Now, in order to build our two aircraft carriers, we have reduced the size of the Type 45 destroyer. Where do we get the funds to build such a warship?"

Originally, the British planned to build 12 Type 45 destroyers to maintain a large enough fleet size, but because the aircraft carriers ate funds and the war with the Americans last year consumed military expenses, the Type 45 destroyers were reduced to 6. Even this kind of warship cannot be built, where does the money come from to build a more advanced warship?

"We'll talk about whether it can be built later, but it must be designed!" Benjamin said.

Boyce reacted and thought that this was a PPT project to scare people! Okay, let's do it.

BAE's staff came soon, and Weston's eyes lit up as he listened to Benjamin's task arrangement.

"Now, in order to further enhance the navy's combat capability, we have decided to develop a 12,000-ton warship. Now, your BAE company will be responsible for the project design." Benjamin said: "This new warship will be named Type 83. It is a global large combat ship."

12,000 tons, Type 83, global large combat ship! Every word in this represents money! Weston's eyes are full of euro patterns.

"So, when will the navy start construction? When will the first sum of money be allocated?" This is what Weston cares about most. After all, he also knows that the country does not have so much money.

"Design first." Benjamin said, "You design the plan, and it will be included in the budget arrangement after the navy reviews it."

"What about the design fee?"

"You will bear the design fee."

Boyce didn't say anything beside him. This project would most likely fail. Benjamin just wanted a design drawing, and then took it out to fill the window. It shouldn't be built. Otherwise, it would be time to bid.

Weston hesitated for a moment and didn't answer. Benjamin continued, "This project will be related to the Royal Navy's maritime hegemony for the next 50 years, so I have to reveal it to you in advance so that it will be convenient for you to bid. Do you understand?"

Weston nodded, "Yes, I understand."

"Within a month, come up with the design drawings and models. We will publicly announce this global combat ship."

Weston was even more speechless. It took only one month to come up with it? This is too fast, right? You are an amateur leading an expert.

"No need for detailed design, just the appearance and basic design will do." Benjamin added.

Weston nodded, that's about it.

"We can complete the mission, but does the Royal Navy have any specific requirements for this type of warship?"

"First of all, the vertical launch units must exceed 112. Some of them must be able to accommodate heavy missiles!" Benjamin began to put forward specific requirements. It must not be less than that of the East. With the same displacement, more vertical launch units must be packed in.

"Then should we continue to use the vertical launch units of the Aster air defense system, or design our own?"

The current Type 45 uses the Aster air defense missile system, which is also considered a symbol of European independence, but now everyone has reached a consensus: the performance of this missile is simply not as good as that of the US-made ones. Wouldn't it be better to directly import US missiles?

"Use the MK41 vertical launch system."

"Yes, but this vertical launch system cannot accommodate heavy missiles."

"Then mainly carry this vertical launch unit, and a small number of heavy vertical launch units developed by ourselves." Benjamin continued to give instructions: "In short, these weapons of ours must have long-range regional air defense, medium-range air defense, short-range air defense, anti-ballistic missiles, anti-hypersonic weapons, hypersonic anti-ships, and long-range land strikes."

Weston was so confused, do we have these?

For long-range area air defense and anti-ballistic missiles, standard missiles must be imported from the United States. Tomahawks can be used for long-range land strikes, but these anti-hypersonic weapons are too powerful. And our own side must also have hypersonic anti-ship missiles? Where did we get this technology? Only Lao Maozi in the world has it...and the East, right?

However, they are just shipbuilders, and they just need to install the heavy-duty vertical launch unit. As for what missiles to put inside, that is a matter for the navy.

Therefore, he did not raise any objection.

"Also, on the mast of the bridge, we need to arrange a dual-band integrated mast. We need to use a combination of two different waveband four-sided phased array radars."

"But, this thing is very expensive." Weston quickly reminded: "According to our cost, the current price of the Sampson radar of the Type 45 destroyer is as high as 300 million euros. If two bands are integrated on the mast, For phased array radar, the price of the radar alone will exceed 1 billion euros!”

From the appearance, one of the biggest features of the British Type 45 destroyer is a ball on its head. On the top of the tall main mast, there is a spherical radar dome. This is the Sampson radar that the British are most proud of. Like Lao Maozi's roof radar, it is also a back-to-back radar, but these two radar arrays are not ordinary waveguide antennas, but tall active phased array radars. Each array has 2,500 arsenic The gallium T/R component has an output power of 25 kilowatts and a maximum detection distance of more than 400 kilometers.

In fact, this kind of radar can also be installed into four arrays to become a tall Aegis-like system, but it is expensive! The British could not afford the equipment, so they built a double-sided front and rotated to search for targets. Even so, the cost of the Type 45 destroyer was as high as 1 billion pounds. This Sampson radar is one of the most expensive components.

Now, if you want to build a four-sided phased array or dual-band, do you know how high the price will be? Even if their BAE company has profit as its first goal, they have to consider that if the cost is too high, Congress will not be able to pass it.

"Yes, if you do this, the price will indeed be quite high, but you should also know that technology is constantly developing and the price will gradually decrease. Look at the East, they can build Aegis battleships in large quantities because The cost continues to decrease. The same goes for us. I believe that when we build it in the future, the price of these eight phased array radars will not be much different from the current price of a Sampson radar.”

you sure? Weston looked at Benjamin seriously, will our construction costs be reduced? Labor costs are rising year by year!

Benjamin ignored Weston and continued to talk about other projects: "This brand-new warship will definitely need to adopt an integrated power system. Do you think we should use four WR-21 gas turbines? Or two MT-30 gas turbines?"

Although the UK is no longer an empire on which the sun never sets, it is still very strong in certain fields, such as aviation engines. There are world-class giants like Rolls-Royce. They are also the first country to implement all gas turbines for surface ships. Although MT- 30 gas turbine encountered some problems during development, but it did not affect their shipbuilding plan.

Moreover, the gas turbine used by the Type 45 destroyer is the brand-new WR-21 gas turbine. This gas turbine has high thermal efficiency and is very fuel-efficient. The maximum output power of two WR-21s is 43 megawatts, which is used on a seven-thousand-ton destroyer. It's appropriate. If the load is 12,000 tons, four units will be needed.

"Let's go with WR-21." Weston made his choice. Four units can output 86 megawatts of power, which is much greater than the 72 megawatts of two MT30s. As for speed, they are not like the United States. Carrying a large amount of power-consuming equipment like humans, this power can completely allow the warship to reach a speed of 30 knots.

The overall requirements for the Type 83 destroyer were met, and the next step was the performance of BAE. After Weston returned to the company, he immediately held a meeting with his subordinates to discuss the design plan.

"I just saw a picture on the Internet, which is Dongfang's 10,000-ton cruise ship. I think this design is good." Expert Steve volunteered: "We can completely refer to this design plan to design our warships!"

"A 10,000-ton battleship from the East?" Weston seemed to understand. Benjamin and the others were stimulated by the East, so they asked themselves to design a 10,000-ton global combat ship!

Steve turned on the computer, searched, and then connected it to the projection screen. Then, a beautiful warship appeared in front of everyone.

"It does look good, but if we completely imitate this kind of warship, others will definitely gossip about it, especially Zhang Zhong, who will definitely make fun of us." Weston hesitated.

"We can modify, for example, this mast. Dongfang's design is not perfect." Steve said: "They always put the main radar in such a low position, resulting in insufficient search capabilities for low-altitude sea-skimming anti-ship missiles. , we can move the radar antenna upward and make the mast look like our Type 45 destroyer, so that the radar can be deployed at a high enough position! "

"Considering stealth, this mast needs further modification." The companion next to him said.

The truth is all refuted, and the British quickly perfected their design. The main mast is even more unique. It used to have a ball on its head, but now it has eight bricks on its face.

The 055 destroyer in the East not only shocked Britain and the United States, but also a country that couldn't sit still.

Turkey is also a country that aspires to be strong. They purchased the Gorshkov from Russia and planned to modify it into their first aircraft carrier. Unfortunately, the modification was too difficult and the project was almost abandoned.

Now, they saw the 055 in the East and they were itching to do so. In order to restore their former glory, Turkey also needs a powerful warship! They also want to build a 10,000-ton destroyer!