On August 26, the Chinese Navy's new Type 054B missile frigate was officially launched at the Hudong Shipyard in Shanghai, which is another advanced surface ship of the Chinese Navy after the Type 055 missile destroyer. On the same day, China's Maritime Safety Administration also issued an announcement informing the Hudong Shipyard on the Pudong side of the Huangpu River in Shanghai that new ships were undocked, and some of the river was closed to traffic. It is reported that a number of tugboats assisted during the undocking process and were responsible for on-site vigilance.
The Type 054B missile frigate launched this time is the first frigate of the Chinese Navy, and its performance and design have been greatly improved. According to expert analysis, the length of this type of ship is about 147 meters, the width of the ship is about 18 meters, and the full load displacement exceeds 5,000 tons, which is more than 1,000 tons more than the Type 054A missile frigate in service.
In terms of appearance, the Type 054B missile frigate adopts a long-bow ship-shaped design, which is somewhat similar to the Type 055 missile destroyer. This type of ship also applies an advanced integrated radio frequency system and an integrated mast, which makes the hull lines smoother and the stealth performance has been significantly improved.
In addition, the hangar and deck space of the Type 054B missile frigate are also more spacious and can carry larger carriers*** According to reports, this type of ship will be equipped with a 10-ton Z-20F carrier-based anti-submarine *** This will greatly enhance the situational awareness, anti-submarine capabilities and multi-mission execution capabilities of this type of ship, including humanitarian rescue.
The launch of the Type 054B missile frigate marks a new improvement in the strength of the Chinese Navy's surface ship force, which will gradually replace the Type 054A missile frigate in service and become the main force of the Chinese Navy's destroyer detachment. It is expected that this type of ship will be officially commissioned in the naval forces next year.
The ** system of the Type 054B missile frigate has also been greatly improved, which is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
Radar system: This type of ship is equipped with a new two-sided rotating S-band active phased array radar, which has greatly improved its performance compared with the Type 382 three-coordinate air-to-air search radar of the Type 054A missile frigate, especially in terms of multi-target processing capabilities and search capabilities.
Anti-submarine system: This type of ship may be equipped with a bow sonar system, a comprehensive submarine search and anti-submarine network composed of variable depth sonar and towed sonar system, with the domestic Z-20F carrier-based anti-submarine *** Its anti-submarine capability has reached the highest level of domestic frigates, which can counter conventionally powered AIP submarines and advanced nuclear submarines, and effectively protect China's maritime interests.
Naval gun system: The main gun of this type of ship was replaced with a 100mm caliber single-barreled naval gun, and the H PJ26 76mm naval gun of the Type 054A missile frigate was abandoned, which means that this type of ship no longer emphasizes the anti-air defense capability of the main gun, but strengthens the sea-to-land attack capability. When performing combat missions in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea, this type of ship can provide stronger fire support for amphibious combat forces and more effectively strike at strong fortifications on the shore. The close defense gun is the 1130 type 30mm close defense ** system, which can intercept missiles more effectively, making the terminal defense system of the Type 054B missile frigate more perfect.
Vertical hair system: The vertical hair system of this type of ship does not seem to have changed much, and it is still equipped with a 32-unit vertical hair device. However, considering the significant increase in the hull itself, the vertical hair device of this type of ship may be replaced with a large-caliber vertical hair system, and it is not known which caliber vertical hair device is used, but it is certain that the regional air defense capability of the Type 054B missile frigate using the new Hongqi-16 is more powerful.
Other ** systems: A Hongqi-10 anti-aircraft missile is also set up on the hangar of this type of ship, and two 4-mounted anti-ship missile launchers are likely to be set up in the middle of the ship. At the rear of the superstructure, a 24-unit launcher is installed, which can fire a variety of jamming bombs to improve the soft-kill capability of anti-ship missiles.
To sum up, the strike capability of the Type 054B missile frigate has surpassed that of all domestic frigates, including the Type 054A missile frigate, and compared with the early domestic third-generation missile destroyers, it also has certain technical advantages.