China confirms new guided-missile frigate is being developed

beijingwalker · Sep 1, 2023

China confirms new guided-missile frigate is being developed

Defence ministry responds to speculation on Chinese social media that first Type 054B warship has been launched
Photos circulating online suggest the new vessel is a bigger, more advanced version of the Type 054A

Published: 5:00pm, 1 Sep, 2023

China’s defence ministry has confirmed that a new guided-missile frigate is being developed, part of the navy’s expansion and modernisation of its fleet.

The ministry was responding to speculation on Chinese social media that the first Type 054B warship has been launched.

Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian on Thursday said it was “a normal arrangement based on the needs of national security and the overall development of naval construction, with the aim of defending national sovereignty, security and development interests and better safeguarding world and regional peace and stability”.

Photos circulating online show a bigger, more advanced version of a navy warship in service, the Type 054A.

The new vessel was seen at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding docks last week, apparently ready to be launched, in a photo posted on the Sina Weibo microblogging site. The Shanghai shipyard is a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

The defence ministry has confirmed the new frigate is being developed. Photo: Weibo

Other photos posted by military enthusiasts suggest a second Type 054B appears to be nearing completion at the Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, another CSSC subsidiary. They show the hull of the frigate being rolled out from a dry dock, meaning it could be ready to launch.

The photos suggest it is a significantly larger frigate compared to the 4,000-tonne Type 054A. The new warship has an estimated displacement of around 6,000 tonnes, according to information posted by former US submariner Tom Shugart on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The hull of the new ship is estimated to be 10 metres longer, meaning it could accommodate the navy’s Z-20 helicopters and drones.

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It appears to use the same advanced phased array radar system as the Type 054A, combined with the stealth mast used on the navy’s most powerful destroyer, the Type 055, according to the photos.

Military observers believe the new frigate could be powered by an integrated electric propulsion system rather than diesel – a new technology developed by the People’s Liberation Army that could make it faster and ultimately power high-energy weapons like rail guns.

Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Naval Academy in Kaohsiung, said the new frigate also appeared to be equipped with the same advanced sonar technology that is used on the Type 055 destroyer.

That would give it anti-submarine capability, which suggests it could be used as an escort vessel for the navy’s amphibious assault ship, Lu said.

“The Type 054B may play a role as a key partner of the Type 075 landing helicopter dock in a possible war over Taiwan,” he said.