Jiangkai 2-class frigate (Type 054A)

Basic information

Type:

Frigate

Parent class:

Jiangkai-class frigate (Type 054)

Operators:

People's Liberation Army Navy (Chinese Navy)

Country of build:

People's Republic of China

Builder:

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding

China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC)

Planned:

Completed:

In service:

2008 – present (16 years)

Ship measurements

Displacement:

3,963 t

Length:

134 m

Beam:

16 m

Draft:

4.5 m

Machine

Propulsion system:

CODAD

Propulsion:

4 * SEMT Peilstick 16 PA 6V 280 STC diesels
20.7 MW (28,200 hp) total
2 shafts

Speed:

27 knots

Range:

3,800 nautical miles (4,400 mi; 7,000 km) estimated at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)

Personnel

Complement:

165

Combat assets

Electronics:

Type 382 Radar
Type 344 Radar (Mineral-ME Band Stand) target acquisition and SSM fire control radar
4 * MR-90 Front Dome SAM fire control radars
MR-36A surface search radar, I-band
Type 347G 76 mm gun fire control radar
2 * Racal RM-1290 navigation radars, I-band
MGK-335 medium frequency active/passive sonar system
H/SJG-206 towed array sonar
ZKJ-4B/6 (developed from Thomson-CSF TAVITAC) combat data system
HN-900 Data link (Chinese equivalent of Link 11A/B, to be upgraded)
SNTI-240 SATCOM
AKD5000S Ku band SATCOM
Type 922-1 radar warning receiver
HZ-100 ECM & ELINT system
Kashtan-3 missile jamming system

Armament:

1 * 32-cell VLS
HQ-16 SAM
Yu-8 anti submarine rocket launcher
2 * 4 YJ-83 anti-ship missiles
1 * PJ26 76 mm dual purpose gun
2 * Type 730 7-barrel 30 mm CIWS guns or Type 1130
2 * 3 324mm Yu-7 ASW torpedo launchers
2 * 6 Type 87 240mm anti-submarine rocket launcher (36 rockets carried)
2 * Type 726-4 18-tube decoy rocket launchers

Aircraft:

1 * Kamov Ka-28 'Helix' or Harbin Z-9C

The Type 054A (NATO/OSD Jiangkai 2) is a class of guided-missile frigate from the People's Republic of China. It is a development of the Type 054 frigate; compared to its predecessor, the Type 054A has medium-range air defense capability in the form of Type 382 radar and vertically launched (VLS) HHQ-16 surface-to-air missiles.

The Type 054A entered service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in January 2008, and was a key component of the PLAN's surface fleet by the late 2010s. Production was ongoing in 2021.

The Type 054 was heavily influenced by the La Fayette-class frigate from France, and so reflected the strategic and operational requirements of that country. The development of the Type 054A may have been driven by China's need to address high-intensity armed conflict.

The Type 054A uses the same stealthy hull form as the Type 054. The forward launcher for HQ-7 short-range SAM is replaced with a 32-cell vertical launching system for medium-range HHQ-16 SAMs and Yu-8 antisubmarine rockets. The smaller main gun and Type 730 close-in weapon system (CIWS) are also installed.

The radar suite makes use of technology reverse engineered from Russian systems; the affected Chinese systems may include the H/LJQ-382 air search radar (from the Fregat MAE-3) and the H/LJQ-366 fire control radar (from the Mineral ME). The HHQ-16 target illuminators may also be derived from the Russian MR-90.

Ships starting with the 17th unit were constructed with enhanced anti-submarine warfare capability — adding variable depth and towed array sonar — and the Type 1130 CIWS instead of the Type 730. These ships have been unofficially referred to as Type 054A+, Type 054A2, or modified Jiangkai II.

In 2015, Gabe Collins estimated that each ship cost US$348 million.

Export

Pakistan ordered four Type 054A variants from Hudong-Zhonghua in 2017-2018 as the Type 054A/P, or Tughril class. The first entered service on 8 November 2021.