Luhu class destroyer
The
Type 052 Luhu-class is one of the first modern multi-role missile-equipped
destroyer built by
China. It is was one of the most advanced in PLAN's inventory, though the class still lags behind Western standards. There are currently two units in active service with the
People's Liberation Army Navy (
PLAN) with no plans of further construction of additional units.
Designed by the
China Warship Design Institute (formerly the
Seventh Academy of the Ministry of National Defense), the ships were built at
Jiangnan Shipyard. No.112
Harbin was the first Luhu destroyer followed by No.113
Qingdao. The class is said to be the first indigenous Chinese warship design approaching modern standards, a significant improvement over the earlier
Luda class. The Luhu made extensive use of foreign technologies that were accessible to the PRC prior to the
Tiananmen Square incident of
1989. These included French-made
radars and fire-control systems and the
GE LM2500 gas turbine engines from the U.S., two of which power each ship.
Even with incorporation of Western technology, the chronic lack of adequate ship-borne air defense system have had great impact on the
PLAN operations. Equipped with small number
surface-to-air missile and guns with limited range and performance, Chinese warships had historically limited their operations within the area covered by their land-based aircraft. To rectify this trend, the Luhu destroyers, and the smaller
Jiangwei class frigate , were fitted with the
HQ-7 SAM that gives it much better air defense capability than any other previous Chinese design, though still limited to within visual range (WVR).
In spite of these advances, the Luhu still suffers in some areas such as
electronic warfare and
electronic counter-measures. The Chinese attempted to address these problems with the introduction of an improved Luhu design, the
Luhai-class. This follow-on, essentially an enlarged Luhu, features improved electronics from foreign suppliers as well as more advanced weapons.
* 112
Harbin* 113
Qingdao*
Unit cost - > 1 billion
renminbi yuan per ship by 1980's price
*
Propulsion CODOG config
** 112 Harbin - 2 GE LM 2500 gas-turbines, 55,000 hp (41 MW) + MTU 12V 1163TB83 diesel, 8,840 hp (6.5 MW)
** 113 Qingdao - 2 x Ukraine GT-25000 gas turbines, 48,600 hp (35.7 MW) + MTU 12V 1163TB83 diesel, 8,840 hp (6.5 MW)
*
Length - 467.8 feet / 142.6 meter
*
Beam - 49.5 feet / 15.3 meters
*
Draft - 16.7 feet / 5 meters
*
Displacement - 4,200 tons (standard), 4,800 tons (full load)
*
Speed - 31 knots
*
Endurance - 4,000 nm at 15 kt
*
Crew - 260 (40 officers)
*
C3I** ZJK-4 (copy of
Thomson-CSF TAVITAC
information processing system)
** 2 x Type 630 (GDG-775) optronic directors
** SNTI-240 SATCOM & datalink
*
Radar/Sonar** Thomson-CSF TSR 3004 Sea Tiger air/surface radar, E/F band (112 Harbin)
**
Type 360S (SR60) air/surface radar, E/F band (113 Qingdao)
**
Type 518 (REL-1/2) Hai Ying long-range 3D air search radar, L-band
**
Type 362 (ESR-1) low-altitude air/surface search radar, I-band
**
Type 345 (MR35) fire-control radar for HQ-7 SAM, J-band
**
Type 344 (MR34) fire-control for YJ-8x SSM and 100 mm gun, I/J band
** 2 x
Type 347G (EFR-1) Rice Lamp fire-control radar for 37 mm AA guns, I-band
** 2 x Racal Decca RM-1290 navigation radar, I-band
** DUBV-23 (SJD-8/9) medium-frequency hull-mounted radar
** DUBV-43 (ESS-1) towed medium-frequency VDS
*
Armament ** 4 x quad YJ-83 (C-803) SSM box launchers
** 1 x 8-cell
HQ-7 SAM with 32 missiles in auto-loader
** 1 x Type PJ-33A dual 100 mm/56
caliber gun** 4 x Type 76A dual 37 mm AA guns
** 2 x triple 324 mm Yu-7
ASW torpedo tubes
** 2 x Type 75 (RBU-1200) 240 mm 12-tube ASW rocket launchers
** 2 x Type 946 15-barrel chaff/decoy launcher
*
Helicopter** 2 x Ka-27 or Z-9C
*
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