Type 052D destroyer

	Guiyang (119) in the East China Sea
Class overview
Name	Type 052D destroyer
Builders	Jiangnan Shipyard; Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company;
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded by	Type 052C
Built	February 2012–present
In service	March 2014–present
Building	6 (August 2022)
Active	25 (August 2022)
General characteristics
Type	Guided-missile destroyer
Displacement	7,500 tons (full load)
Length	Initial variant: 156 m (511 ft 10 in) - 157 m (515 ft 1 in); Extended flight deck variant: 161 m (528 ft 3 in);
Beam	17 m (55 ft 9 in) - 18 m (59 ft 1 in)
Draught	6 m (19 ft 8 in)
Propulsion	CODOG; 2 × QC-280 gas turbines; 2 × MTU 20V 956TB92 diesel engine[better source needed];
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Sensors and ; processing systems	Type 346A multifunction 3D AESA radar; Type 518 air search radar; Type 364 altitude and surface search radar; Type 366 surface search and anti-ship fire control radar; Type 349A main gun fire control radar; Type 760 navigation radar; Variable depth sonar; Towed array sonar;
Electronic warfare ; & decoys	2 × H/RJZ-726 electronic countermeasure system; 4 × Type 726-4A decoy launchers (18 rockets each);
Armament	1 × 130 mm gun; 1 × HQ-10 short-range SAM 24-cell launcher; 64 cell VLS (GJB 5860-2006 standard); HHQ-9 SAM; YJ-18 SSM; CY-5 ASM; Early units: Type 730 CIWS; Later units: Type 1130 CIWS;
Aircraft carried	Helicopter
Aviation facilities	Hangar; Landing pad;

The Type 052D destroyer (NATO/OSD Luyang III-class destroyer) is a class of guided-missile destroyers in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. The Type 052D is a larger variant of the Type 052C; the Type 052D uses a canister-type, instead of revolver-type, vertical launching system (VLS) and has flat-paneled active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The new VLS is not limited to surface-to-air missiles, making the Type 052D China's first dedicated multi-role destroyer.

Etymology

The Type 052Ds are fitted with the four-panel Type 346A (NATO reporting name: Dragon Eye) active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system. Chinese media informally calls the Type 052D the Chinese Aegis, portraying it as a peer of contemporary United States Navy ships equipped with the Aegis Combat System. The appearance of the Type 052D, with flat-panelled radar and canister-based VLS, has encouraged this informal use.

Design

Sensors

The Type 052D is equipped with Type 346A AESA and Type 518 L-band radar.

The Type 052D is also equipped with both variable depth (VDS) and linear towed array sonar. The VDS is deployed through a hinged opening in the transom by a hydraulic lifting mechanism. The VDS body is a streamlined fairing fitted with Y-shaped hydrodynamic vanes for towing stability.

Armament

The Type 052D is the first Chinese surface combatant to use canister-based universal VLS, as opposed to the concentric type VLS carried aboard earlier vessels. 64 cells are carried, 32 forward and 32 aft. The VLS is reportedly an implementation of the GJB 5860-2006 standard. The VLS may fire the extended-range variant of the HHQ-9 surface-to-air missile, YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles, and CY-5 anti-submarine missiles.

The main gun is a 130 mm weapon.

Early units were completed with 7-barrelled Type 730 close-in weapon system (CIWS). This was replaced in later units by the larger 11-barrelled Type 1130 CIWS.

Data links

The Type 052D may be using the joint service integrated datalink system (JSIDLS) and naval common tactical data link (NCTDL). JSIDLS is equivalent to Link 16 and was certified in June 2012. NCTDL is a next-generation two-way encrypted data link with support for electro-optic and laser pod UAVs; it replaces the older HN-900.

Propulsion

The powerplant is a combined diesel or gas (CODOG) system with two 28-megawatt (38,000 hp) QC-280 gas turbines and two 6 MW (8,000 hp) MTU 20V 956TB92 diesel engines.

The machinery drives two shafts for a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).

Stretched variant

A stretched variant, commonly and unofficially referred to as Type 052DL, has a flight deck extended by four metres (13 ft 1 in), and an "anti-stealth radar". The extended flight deck is likely intended for the Harbin Z-20 helicopter.

The variant was under construction by 2016, with the first unit (Zibo) launched in 2018 and commissioned in 2020. Construction of further units to this design are continuing at the rate of three or four vessels per year.

Ships of class

The first three batches of the 052D Class totalled 30 ships. The fourth batch of 10 ships is currently under construction.

Pennant no.	Name	Namesake	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Fleet	Status
Type 052D
172	昆明 / Kunming	Provincial capital of Yunnan, Kunming	Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd., Changxingdao	28 August 2012	21 March 2014	South Sea Fleet	Active
173	长沙 / Changsha	Provincial capital of Hunan, Changsha	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	18 December 2012	12 August 2015	South Sea Fleet	Active
174	合肥 / Hefei	Provincial capital of Anhui, Hefei	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	1 March 2013	12 December 2015	South Sea Fleet	Active
175	银川 / Yinchuan	Regional capital of Ningxia, Yinchuan	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	28 March 2014	12 July 2016	South Sea Fleet	Active
117	西宁 / Xining	Provincial capital of Qinghai, Xining	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	26 August 2014	22 January 2017	North Sea Fleet	Active
154	厦门 / Xiamen	City of Xiamen	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	30 December 2014	10 June 2017	East Sea Fleet	Active
118	乌鲁木齐 / Ürümqi	Regional capital of Xinjiang, Ürümqi	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	7 July 2015	January 2018	North Sea Fleet	Active
119	贵阳 / Guiyang	Provincial capital of Guizhou, Guiyang	Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company	28 November 2015	22 February 2019	North Sea Fleet	Active
155	南京 / Nanjing	Provincial capital of Jiangsu, Nanjing	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	28 December 2015	April 2018	East Sea Fleet	Active
161	呼和浩特 / Hohhot	Regional capital of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	26 December 2016	12 January 2019	South Sea Fleet	Active
131	太原 / Taiyuan	Provincial capital of Shanxi, Taiyuan	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	28 July 2016	3 December 2018	East Sea Fleet	Active
120	成都 / Chengdu	Provincial capital of Sichuan, Chengdu	Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company	3 August 2016	22 November 2019	North Sea Fleet	Active
121	齐齐哈尔 / Qiqihar	City of Qiqihar	Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company	26 June 2017	14 August 2020	North Sea Fleet	Active
Type 052D (stretched)
156	淄博 / Zibo	City of Zibo	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	14 August 2018	14 January 2020	East Sea Fleet	Active
122	唐山 / Tangshan	City of Tangshan	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	7 July 2018	14 August 2020	North Sea Fleet	Active
132	苏州 / Suzhou	City of Suzhou	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	18 December 2018	January 2021	East Sea Fleet	Active
123	淮南 / Huainan	City of Huainan	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	15 April 2019	February 2021	North Sea Fleet	Active
162	南宁 / Nanning	Provincial capital of Guangxi, Nanning	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	23 February 2019	12 April 2021	South Sea Fleet	Active
124	开封 / Kaifeng	City of Kaifeng	Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company	10 May 2019	16 April 2021	North Sea Fleet	Active
165	湛江 / Zhanjiang	City of Zhanjiang	Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company	10 May 2019	25 December 2021	South Sea Fleet	Active
164	桂林 / Guilin	City of Guilin	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	26 September 2019	September 2021	South Sea Fleet	Active
133	包头 / Baotou	City of Baotou	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	28 August 2019	28 December 2021	East Sea Fleet	Active
134	绍兴 / Shaoxing	City of Shaoxing (in Zhejiang)	Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company	26 December 2019	February 2022	East Sea Fleet	Active
163	焦作 / Jiaozuo	City of Jiaozuo	Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxingdao	28 December 2019	January 2022	South Sea Fleet	Active
157	丽水 / Lishui	City of Lishui	Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company	30 August 2020	June 2022	East Sea Fleet	Active

Gallery

Kunming (172) at Changxing Island
Xiamen (154) on 20 April 2018
Hefei (174) during a visit to Helsinki in 2017
Zhanjiang (165) during a visit to Langkawi, Malaysia in 2023

References

Bibliography

Holmes, James R. (15 February 2018). Fleet Design with Chinese Characteristics (PDF) (Report). United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
Li, Nan (2017). "Why Is the Surface Fleet Gaining Importance?". CSMI Red Book. 14. United States Naval War College: 43–54. ISBN 978-1-935352-45-7. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
McDevitt, Michael (2017). "The Modern PLA Navy Destroyer Force". CSMI Red Book. 14. United States Naval War College: 55–65. ISBN 978-1-935352-45-7. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.