The first two ships, Lanzhou and Haikou, were laid down at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai in 2002, and entered service in 2004 and 2005 respectively.[2] No further ships were laid down until 2010;[8] the pause may have been due to the relocation of the shipyard.[9] By 2019, six were operational.[1]
Design
The Type 052C appears to share the same basic hull design as the Type 052B destroyer, which in turn is based on the Type 051B destroyer. Stealth features are incorporated.[2]
The Type 052C uses predominantly Chinese systems derived from earlier foreign technology; the preceding Type 052 and Type 052B destroyers used a mixture of Russian and Chinese systems.[9]
Eight YJ-62anti-ship missiles are carried in two quad-canister launchers just forward of the hangar.[2] Each missile has a range of 250 nautical miles (460 km; 290 mi).[10]
Guns
The main gun is a 100 mm (4 in) PJ-87. The gun suffered from jamming and may have influenced the decision to adopt a different weapon for the Type 052D destroyer.[3][12] The weapon has a rate of fire of 25 rounds per minute.[2]
Close-in defence is provided by two seven-barrel 30 mm (1.2 in) Type 730 CIWS, one mounted forward of the bridge and one atop the hangar. Each gun has a maximum rate of fire of 4200 rounds per minute.[2]
The Type 052C is the first PLAN warship to mount[3] the G-band[2] Type 346 AESA radar.[6] The four phased array antennas are mounted on the taller forward superstructure. The Type 346 is used for air search, and provides fire control for the HHQ-9.[2] The combination of AESA radar and VLS SAMs produces a marked increase in anti-aircraft firepower over previous Chinese warships.[6]
Aircraft
A Kamov Ka-28 or Harbin Z-9 helicopter may operate from the rear hangar and flight deck.[5] The Ka-28 is equipped with a search radar and dipping sonar and can also employ sonobuoys, torpedoes, depth charges, or mines.[14] The Z-9 is a variant of the Airbus HelicoptersAS365 Dauphin. The naval variant of the Z-9, the Z-9C, is equipped with the KLC-1 search radar, dipping sonar, and is typically armed with a single, lightweight torpedo.[15] Either helicopter significantly improves the anti-submarine capabilities of the Type 052C.
The DA80s had blade problems and may have contributed to the last two Type 052Cs sitting pierside at the shipyard for two years without being accepted by the PLAN.[3]
The MTU 20V 956TB92 engines were license-produced by Shaanxi Diesel Engine Works.[3]
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