Chinese frigate Yancheng (546)

Yancheng (546) is a Type 054A frigate of the People's Liberation Army Navy. She was commissioned on 5 June 2012.

Yancheng underway on 8 August 2014
History
China
Name	Yancheng
Namesake	Yancheng (盐城)
Builder	Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Shanghai
Launched	27 April 2011
Commissioned	5 June 2012
Identification	Pennant number: 546
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Type 054A frigate
Displacement	4,053 tonnes (full)
Length	134.1 m (440 ft)
Beam	16 m (52 ft)
Propulsion	CODAD, 4 × Shaanxi 16 PA6 STC diesels, 5700 kW (7600+ hp @ 1084 rpm) each
Speed	27 knots estimated
Range	8,025 nautical miles (9,235 mi; 14,862 km) estimated
Complement	165
Sensors and processing systems	Type 382 Radar Type 344 Radar (Mineral-ME Band Stand) OTH target acquisition and SSM fire control radar 4 × Type 345 Radar(MR-90 Front Dome) SAM fire control radars MR-36A surface search radar, I-band Type 347G 76 mm gun fire control radar 2 × Racal RM-1290 navigation radars, I-band MGK-335 medium frequency active/passive sonar system H/SJG-206 towed array sonar ZKJ-4B/6 (developed from Thomson-CSF TAVITAC) combat data system HN-900 Data link (Chinese equivalent of Link 11A/B, to be upgraded) SNTI-240 SATCOM AKD5000S Ku band SATCOM
Electronic warfare & decoys	Type 922-1 radar warning receiver HZ-100 ECM & ELINT system Kashtan-3 missile jamming system
Armament	1 × 32-cell VLS HQ-16 SAM Yu-8 anti submarine rocket launcher 2 × 4 C-803 anti-ship / land attack cruise missiles 1 × PJ26 76 mm dual-purpose gun 2 × Type 730 7-barrel 30 mm CIWS guns or Type 1130 2 × 3 324mm Yu-7 ASW torpedo launchers 2 × 6 Type 87 240mm anti-submarine rocket launcher (36 rockets carried) 2 × Type 726-4 18-tube decoy rocket launchers
Aircraft carried	1 Kamov Ka-28 'Helix' or Harbin Z-9C
Aviation facilities	hangar

Development and design

Main article: Type 054A frigate

The Type 054A carries HQ-16 medium-range air defence missiles and anti-submarine missiles in a vertical launching system (VLS) system. The HQ-16 has a range of up to 50 km, with superior range and engagement angles to the Type 054's HQ-7. The Type 054A's VLS uses a hot launch method; a shared common exhaust system is sited between the two rows of rectangular launching tubes.^[1]

The four AK-630 close-in weapon systems (CIWS) of the Type 054 were replaced with two Type 730 CIWS on the Type 054A. The autonomous Type 730 provides improved reaction time against close-in threats.^[2]

Construction and career

Yancheng was launched on 27 April 2011 at the Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Shanghai. Commissioned on 5 June 2012.

Yancheng participated with Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy and western vessels in the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons.^[3]

Gallery

• 
  Yancheng underway on 25 July 2013.
• 
  Yancheng underway on 12 July 2014.
• 
  Yancheng underway on 27 December 2014.
• 
  Yancheng underway on 19 August 2019.

References

1. 舰载武器SHIPBORNE WEAPONS 2013 AUGUST ISSUE
2. "Chinese Navy". Archived from the original on 7 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
3. Notte, Hanna (2 January 2020). "The United States, Russia, and Syria's chemical weapons: a tale of cooperation and its unravelling". The Nonproliferation Review. 27 (1–3): 201–224. doi:10.1080/10736700.2020.1766226. S2CID 225770190.