Type 053H3 frigate

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People's Republic of China
Type 53H3 frigate Sanming at Shanghai Naval Base
Operators:	People's Liberation Army Navy
Following class:	Type 054 frigate
Ships in Class
General Characteristics
Displacement:	2,250 tons standard, 2,393 tons full load
Length:	112 m
Beam:	12.4 m
Draught:	4.3 m
Propulsion and power:	CODAD, 2 shaft, 2 x 18E390VA diesel @ 14,000 hp (17.6 kW) & 2x MTU diesel @ 8,840 hp (6.5 kW)
Speed:	16 knots cruising, 26 to 27 knots max
Range:	5,000 miles at 15 to 16 knots
Complement:	168 (with 30 officers)
Armament:	8 x YJ-83 SSM in 2 x 4-cell box launchers 1 x 8-cell HQ-7 Surface-to-air missile system 1 x PJ33A dual 100mm gun (automatic) 4 x Type 76A dual-37mm AA guns 2 x 6-tube Type 3200 ASW rocket launchers (36 rockets) 2 x DC racks & launcher
Aircraft complement:	Harbin Z-9C
Aircraft facilities:	Hangar

The Jiangwei-class frigate is a continued development of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s 053-series ships. These ships are the first multi-role frigates in PLAN capable of fleet air defense, anti-shipping, and anti-submarine warfare with helicopter capability.

1 History
2 Versions
3 General characteristics
- 3.1 053H3 (Jiangwei II)
4 Ships
- 4.1 053H2G (Jiangwei I)
- 4.2 053H3 (Jiangwei II)
5 External links

[edit] History

In the 1980s, the PLAN needed a replacement air-defense frigate for the Type 053K (Jiangdong-class). Hudong Shipyard (now Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard) was tasked to build an improved version of the Type 053H2 (Jianghu-III) frigate with air defense capability. The new ship, Type 053H2G, received the NATO designation Jiangwei-class.

The 053H2G Jiangwei class frigate is slightly larger than the 053H2 Jianghu class frigate, equipped with the HQ61B SAM system for air defense. A total of four Type 053HG2G ships were built between 1988 and 1991. Some sources claim that they've been upgraded with the Crotale (or Chinese copy HQ-7) SAM system, and the modernized version received the designation of Type 055. However this might be a confusion with the original Type 053H2G development project number, which was Project 055. [1]

Due to the unsatisfactory performance of the HQ61 SAM, the PLAN ordered an improved version, the 053H3 (Jiangwei-II) to be equipped with the French-made Thomson-CSF R-330 Sea Crotale SAM. China's 2nd Space Academy (now China Academy of Defense Technology) copied the Crotale for domestic production as the HQ-7 SAM. A total of 10 Type 053H3 ships were built between 1996 and 2005. It's speculated that the 053H3 is the last of the 053-series ships, as the PLAN shifts toward newer hulls like the Type 054 frigate (Jiangkai I(II)-class).

[edit] Versions

Type 053H2G (Jiangwei I): Armed with 6 x C-802 anti-ship missiles, and a 6-cell HQ-61B SAM system. Some reports indicate that the HQ-61B have been replaced by the HQ-7 SAM through modernization-upgrade program, and it is claimed that the modernized version is sometimes named Type 055.

Type 053H3 (Jiangwei II): Improved 053H2G with the rear anti-aircraft artillery mount elevated. Armed with 8 x C-802 anti-ship missiles, and HQ-7 SAM. The most obvious visual distinction between Jiangwei I & II is that the after AAA mounts are elevated in Jiangwei II. Jiangwei II class was briefly equipped with HQ-61B SAM system before being replaced by HQ-7 during upgrade, and some sources claim that the upgraded version is also called Type 057.

[edit] General characteristics

[edit] 053H3 (Jiangwei II)

Displacement - 2,250 tons standard, 2,393 tons full load
Length - 112 m
Beam - 12.4 m
Draught - 4.3 m
Propulsions - 2 shaft, 2 x 18E390VA diesel @ 14,000 hp (17.6 kW) & 2x MTU diesel @ 8,840 hp (6.5 kW)
Speed - 16 knots cruising, 26 to 27 knots max
Range - 5,000 miles at 15 to 16 knots
Complement - 168 (with 30 officers)
Radar
- Type 360 Radar (SR60) Surface Search, E/F band
- Type 517H-1 (Knife Rest) 2D long-range air search, A-band
- Type 345 Radar (MR35) HQ-7 Surface-to-air missile and 100mm gun fire-control, J-band
- Type 352 Radar (Square Tie) surface search and SSM fire control, I-band
- 2 x Type 347G/EFR-1 (Rice Lamp) dual 37mm AA gun fire control, I-band
- 2 x Racal RM-1290 Navigation radar, I-band
EW/ECM
- Data link: HN-900 (Chinese equivalent of Link 11A/B, to be upgraded)
- Communication: SNTI-240 SATCOM
- Combat Data System: ZKJ-3C
- RWD-8 (Jug Pair) intercept
- Type 981-3 EW Jammer
- SR-210 Radar warning receiver
- Type 651A IFF
- 2 x Type 946/PJ-46 15-barrel decoy rocket launchers
Aviation
- Helicopter deck for single Z-9C helicopter
Armament
- 8 x YJ-83 SSM in 2 x 4-cel box launchers
- 1 x 8-cell HQ-7 Surface-to-air missile system
- 1 x PJ33A dual 100mm gun (automatic)
- 4 x Type 76A dual-37mm AA guns
- 2 x 6-tube Type 3200 ASW rocket launchers (36 rockets)
- 2 x DC racks & launcher