Type 054 frigate

In late 2002 China began construction of a new frigate, the Type 054 (NATO Codename JIANGKAI I). The first ship was No. 525 Ma'anshan, and the first captain of this first ship of the class is Commander Wang Xianzhong (王獻忠). Western analysts assumed that ship class would be named after the first ship (Ma'anshan). However by 2006, the Type 054 Frigate has been classified as the Jiangkai Class Frigate.

The Type 054 is successor to the Jiangwei and Jianghu class frigates of the People's Liberation Army Navy. It has been compared to the French La Fayette class frigate. The 3,400 ton (estimated) Type 054 incorporates some stealth features: sloped hull design; radar absorbent materials; and reduction of surface equipment and features.

The main weapon is two four-cell launchers with the YJ-83 sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missile. It also has an eight-cell launcher with the HQ-7 SAM, which is an improved version of the French Crotale missile. The HQ-7 system has 8 ready to fire missiles, plus 16 stored in the automatic reloader. There is a helicopter flight deck at the stern. It also has a 100 mm main gun and four AK-630 CIWS turrets.

In April 2002, the Franco-German company SEMT Pielstick announced that China had licensed 8 x Type 16 PA6 STC marine diesel engines for 2 new frigates. These 8 engines were built under licensed by Shaanxi Diesel Engine Works, and used to equip the 2 Type 054 Frigates, #525 Ma'anshan, and #526 Wenzhou. Other initial reports claim that the ships were powered by 2 x 16 PA STC + 2 x MTU 20V 956TB92 diesels, or possibly even 4 x 16 PA STC + 2 x MTU 20V 956TB92.

Type 054A

In late 2005, it was revealed that an updated design, the Type 054A was under construction at Huangpu Shipyard. The 054A physically resembles the 054, but has updated sensors and weapons. The new "Sea Eagle" radar strongly resembles the Russian Fregat-MX series radar. The ship is equipped with a new 76 mm gun, Type 730 CIWS, and 32-cell VLS SAM system speculated to be either HQ-16 or Shtil-VL (SA-N-12 VLS). [http://mil.jschina.com.cn/huitong/Jiangkai_Jiangwei.htm]

As of August 2008, four Type 054A Frigates have entered serice with the PLAN.

Type 054B

In the late september of 2009 a new 054 frigate was identified in the Huangpu Shipyard in Guangzhou. The vessel is thought to be a follow-up of the Type 054A (Jiangkai-II class) and may be designated Type 054B (Jiangkai-III class?). [http://www.sinodefence.com/weapons/report/080921a.asp]

Specifications

*Length: 133 meters (estimated)
*Beam: 17 meters (estimated)
*Displacement: 3,400 to 3,900 metric tons (estimated)
*Maximum speed: 25 to 30 knots (estimated)
*Range: 7,000 nautical miles (estimated)
*Propulsion (Combined diesel and diesel):
**4 x SEMT Pielstick 16 PA6 STC diesels, 5700 kW (7600+ hp @ 1084 rpm) each
*Sensors:
**Type 054 only
***Type 363S (Thomson-CSF DRBV-15 Sea Tiger) 2D air/surface search radar, E/F band
***Type 345 (Thomson-CSF Castor-II) fire-control radar for HQ-7 SAM, I/J band
***Type 347G "Rice Lamp" fire control radar for AK-630 CIWS guns, I-band
**Type 054A only
***Fregat MAE-5 "Top Plate" 3D air/surface search radar
***Mineral-ME "Band Stand" OTH target acquisition and SSM fire control radar
***4 x MR-90 "Front Dome" SAM fire control radars
**Both 054 and 054A
***MR-36A surface search radar, I-band
***Type MR34 100 mm gun fire control radar
***2 x Racal RM-1290 navigation radars, I-band
***Type 922-1 radar warning receiver
***MGK-335 medium frequency active/passive sonar system
***HZ-100 ECM & ELINT system
***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
*Armament:
**Type 054 only
***1 x HQ-7 (Thales Crotale) 8-cell SAM launcher
***1 x 100 mm dual purpose gun based on Creusot-Loire T100C design
***4 x AK-630 6-barrel 30 mm CIWS guns
**Type 054A only
***1 x 32-cell VLS for HQ-16 SAM
***1 x 76 mm dual purpose gun
***2 x Type 730 7-barrel 30 mm CIWS guns
**Both 054 and 054A
***2 x 4-cell YJ-83 anti-ship missile launchers
***2 x 3-tube 324 mm YU-7 ASW torpedo launchers
***2 x 6-barrel ASW rocket launchers
***2 x Type 726-4 18-tube decoy rocket launchers
*Aviation:
**1 x Kamov Ka-28 Helix or Harbin Z-9C helicopter

Comparison with La Fayette

The 054 Frigate resembles the French La Fayette Frigate externally. The two ships also have similar size and displacement. Some notable similarities include:

*Propulsion:
**Type 054: CODAD config with 4x SEMT Pielstick 21,000 hp (disputed)
**La Fayette: CODAD config with 4x SEMT Pielstick convert|21000|hp|abbr=on

*Radar:
**Type 054: Type 363S, based on Thomson-CSF DRBV-15 Sea Tiger Radar
**La Fayette: Thales (Thomson-CSF) DRBV-15C Sea Tiger Mk2

*Fire Control:
**Type 054: Type 345, based on Thomson-CSF Castor II
**La Fayette: Thales (Thomson-CSF) Castor 2J

*Combat Management System:
**Type 054: ZKJ-4B/6, developed from Thomson-CSF TAVITAC
**La Fayette: Thales (Thomson-CSF) TACITAC 2000 (Successor to TAVITAC)

*Main gun:
**Type 054: Type 210 100 mm gun based on French Creusot-Loire T100C
**La Fayette: DCN 100 mm TR

*SAM:
**Type 054: HQ-7 SAM, based on Sea Crotale SAM
**La Fayette: Crotale VT1

China imported many weapon systems from France in the 1980s, and obtained license production. Several systems utilized on the Type 054 frigate are based on French systems that were used on the La Fayette in 1980s. However, the newer Type 054A frigate incorporates much more advanced indigenous systems, along with several more powerful domestically developed weapons such as the HQ-16 VLS and the Type 730 CIWS.

External links

* [http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/surface/type054jiangkai.asp Chinese Defense Today page]
* [http://mil.jschina.com.cn/huitong/Jiangkai_Jiangwei.htm Chinese Navy]