A new triple-hulled Chinese warship design debuted at the Dubai IDEX defense exposition, where arms makers from around the world show off their latest wares.
China Shipbuilding Trading Company showed off a model of the trimaran warship and announced that they are planning to start its construction by 2017 for the People's Liberation Army Navy.
A trimaran ship is identified through a three-hull design: one large central one, and two rearward smaller hulls that are connected by decks or girders. The design is used in the new USS Independence subclass of the Littoral Combat Ship of the U.S. Navy. which looks similar to the new Chinese ship.
The design of the trimaran has a wider deck that can accommodate more aircraft. It has a two-door hangar for helicopters, unmanned aircraft systems, and vertical take-off landing. Due to the reduced drag of having three gulls instead of a single wider one, trimarans can also reach higher speeds.
The Chinese trimaran frigate will be the first warship to use an integrated electrical propulsion system, which will provide the ship's power for driving its three pumpjets. It will have a top speed of 30-35 knots, which is slower compared to the USS Independence subclass of the Littoral Combat Ship's 50 knots top speed.
Since the Chinese ship boasts a larger capacity, it will be more heavily armed compared to the American ship. It boasts a 76mm cannon, anti-ship missiles, and vertical launching system cells for carrying land attack cruise, anti-ship, and anti-air missiles.
Once the Chinese trimaran frigate is built, it will provide the People's Liberation Army Navy a high-speed and heavily armed warship for littoral operations in the East and South China Seas.
It will provide Type 022 stealth missile boats and Type 056 corvettes with area air defense and helicopter coverage. Its space and large carrying capacity can be used so that it can become a command center for unmanned boats and Chinese drones.