China commissions first of modified Type 052D Luyang-III class missile destroyer

the Type 052D destroyer Zibo (156). Photo c/o Loongnaval@Twitter.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned the first of the modified Type 052D Luyang-III class guided missile destroyers during ceremonies held on 12 January 2020.

The destroyer, named Zibo (156) is assigned with the PLAN East Sea Fleet’s 6th Destroyer Flotilla based at Dinhai Naval Base in Zhoushan Island.

The ship was built by Jiangnan Changxingdao Shipyard and was launched in mid-2018, completing fit-out and sea trials within 18 months. 

The modified Type 052D is 4 meters longer than the standard variant, due to a lengthened flight deck to accommodate the Harbin Z-20 helicopter, wherein a naval variant is being developed as an improvement over the existing Harbin Z-9 naval helicopter.

While unofficial, there are certain quarters that designate this “stretched” variant as the Type 052E class. A total of 12 ships were ordered by the PLAN, with several of the ships already in different stages of construction and trials.

The ships displaces at around 7,500 tons, is 161 meters long (stretched variant), a beam of 17 meters, and a complement of 280 officers and sailors. 

They are armed with 64 Vertical Launching System (VLS) cells allowing the use of the YJ-17 anti-ship cruise missiles, HHQ-9 surace-to-air missiles, and CY-5 anti-submarine rockets. It also has a 130mm main naval gun, and the Type 1130 close-in weapon system (CIWS). It also two triple anti-submarine torpedo tubes and several manually operated machine guns.


[1] Jane’s Defence Weekly
[2] Loongnaval @ Twitter 
[3] Naval News