From the Bridge

摘要

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned its most powerful surface combatant, the LUYANG Ⅲ-class (Type 052D) guided missile destroyer KUNMING (172) at China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC) on 21 March 2014. The second ship, CHANGSHA (173), took to the waters of Zhoushan in eastern China to begin sea trials, while the third and fourth units in the class (GUIYANG and CHENGDU) are both outfitting. The fifth ship (HEFEI) is being build and the modules for the sixth ship (NANJING) are being assembled. Units 7 (YINCHUANG) and 8 (TAIYUAN) are planned and approved. The new class appears to be a development of the LUYANG Ⅱ-class (Type 052C) destroyer. PLAN Commander Adm.Wu Shengli was quoted as saying the new destroyers will "greatly enhance the Navy's fighting capabilities." The 7,500t (full displacement) KUNMING features several improvements in terms of design, weapons, and sensors. An enhanced version of the indigenously developed Type 346/348 DRAGON EYE active phased array radar has been added to the ship's sensors, with four large fixed panels mounted on the ship's forward superstructure. Accommodating a crew of 280, the 154m long warship has a range of 4,500nm (8,335km) and features a flight deck to carry up to two Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corp. (HAMC) ZHI-9A HAITUN or Kamov Ka-28 HELIX helicopters. Armament consists of two 32-cell vertical launching modules (forward and aft) for more advanced surface-to-air missiles, one H/PJ38 130mm main gun, one Type 730 3 mm gun, and six YU-7 324mm torpedoes. The latter are capable of carrying a 45kg warhead over a range of 7.5nm (14km).