Type 052B destroyer

The Type 052B (NATO/OSD Luyang I-class destroyer^[5]) is a class of guided-missile destroyers in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (PLAN). The Type 052B was China's first modern destroyer design^[6][7] and the first Chinese design to incorporate true medium-range air defence capability in the form of Russian Shtil-1 (improved navalized Buk, NATO designation SA-N-12) surface-to-air missiles (SAM).^[8]

Guangzhou (168) in Cádiz in 2007
Class overview
Builders	Jiangnan Shipyard
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force
Preceded by	Type 051B Type 956E / 956EM
Succeeded by	Type 051C
Built	2001–2004
In service	July 2004–present
Planned	2
Completed	2
Active	2
General characteristics
Type	Guided-missile destroyer
Displacement	7,000 tons[1]
Length	155 m (509 ft)[1]
Beam	17 m (56 ft)[1]
Draught	6 m (20 ft)[1]
Propulsion	Combined diesel or gas[1] 2 × DA80 gas turbines (35.7 MW)[1] 2 × MTU 1163 TB 83 diesel engines (10 MW)[1]
Speed	29 kn (54 km/h; 33 mph)[1]
Range	4500 nm at 14 kn[1]
Complement	280[1]
Sensors and processing systems	Fregat MAE-3 (Top Plate) 3D air search radar[1] Type 364 search radar[1] Front-Dome fire control radar[1] Mineral-ME (Band Stand) fire control radar[1] Type 344 fire control radar[1] Type 347G(2) fire control radar[1] Bow-mounted sonar[1] Towed array sonar[2]
Electronic warfare & decoys	SRW 210A ESM[1] Type 984 jammer[1] Type 985 jammer[1]
Armament	16 × YJ-83 anti-ship missiles[1] 48 × Shtil-1 surface-to-air missiles[1] 1 × H/PJ87 100 mm main gun[3][4] 2 × Type 730 CIWS[1] 4 × multiple rocket launchers[1] 2 × triple B515 324mm antisubmarine torpedo tubes (Yu-7)[1]
Aircraft carried	1 helicopter: Harbin Z-9 or Kamov Ka-28[1]
Aviation facilities	Flight deck and hangar[1]

Two ships - Guangzhou and Wuhan - were begun in 2001 and commissioned in July and December 2004 respectively.^[1][9]

Programme

In the early 2000's, China pursued multiple - and sometimes concurrent - programmes to acquire modern destroyers, purchasing Sovremennys from Russia and constructing the Type 052B, Type 051C, and Type 052C.^[10] These ships also represented steps to develop adequate air defense capabilities by adopting Russian air defense technology.;^[11] the 25-km range Uragan (navalized Buk, NATO designation SA-N-7) on the Sovremenny; the 35-km range Shtil-1 on the Type 052B; long-range area air defense with the 150-km range Rif-M (navalized S-300, NATO designation SA-N-20) on the Type 051C;^[8] and finally the Chinese 100-km range HHQ-9 (S-300 derivative) on the Type 052D.^[12]

The Type 052B's air defence capabilities were obsolete upon entering service when compared to contemporary American and Japanese designs.^[13] Nonetheless it represented a considerable general improvement over previous Chinese warships^[6] and was the precursor to later Chinese air warfare destroyers.^[6][13]

Design

The hull is based on the Type 051B destroyer with added stealth features.^[1]

Ships of Class

Number	Pennant number	Name	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Fleet	Status
1	168	广州 / Guangzhou	Jiangnan	25 May 2002[9]	15 July 2004[9]	South Sea Fleet	Active
2	169	武汉 / Wuhan		9 September 2002[9]	December 2004[9]		Active

Gallery

• 
  Type 052B destroyer Guangzhou (168) in Saint Petersburg, Russia
• 
  052B in the South China Sea
• 
  Wuhan (169) in the western Pacific

See also

• List of naval ship classes in service