Type 053H3 frigate

Class overview

NameType 053H3

OperatorsPeople's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force Bangladesh Navy

Preceded byType 053H2G

Succeeded byType 054

SubclassesZulfiquar class (Pakistan Navy)

Planned10

Completed10

Active8 (PLAN Surface Force) 2 (Bangladesh Navy)

General characteristics

TypeFrigate

Displacement2,250 tons standard, 2,393 tons full load

Length112 m (367 ft 5 in)

Beam12.4 m (40 ft 8 in)

Draught4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)

PropulsionCODAD, 2 shaft, 2 x 18E390VA diesel at 23,600 hp (17,600 kW) 2 x MTU diesel at 8,715 hp (6,499 kW)

Speed28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)

Range5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 15 to 16 knots (28 to 30 km/h)

Endurance21

Complement168 (with 30 officers)

Sensors & processing systemsType 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 fire-control, J-band Type 352 Radar (Square Tie) surface search and SSM fire control, I-band Type 343GA (Wasp Head) fire control radar for main gun, G/H-band 2 × Type 347G/EFR-1 (Rice Lamp) dual 37 mm AA gun fire control, I-band 2 × Racal RM-1290 navigation radar, I-band

Electronic warfare & decoysData 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 × Type 946/PJ-46 15-barrel decoy rocket launchers

Armament8 × YJ-83 SSM in 2 x 4-cell box launchers 1 × 8-cell HQ-7 surface-to-air missile system (replaced with 1 x 8-cell HQ-10 on PLA ships) 1 × H/PJ-33B dual 100 mm gun (automatic) 4 × Type 76A dual 37 mm AA guns (replaced with 2 x Type 630 30mm guns on PLA ships) 2 × 6-tube Type 3200 ASW rocket launchers (36 rockets) 2 × DC racks & launcher

Aircraft carriedHarbin Z-9C

Aviation facilitiesHangar

The Type 053H3 (NATO reporting name: Jiangwei II) is a class of Chinese frigates that entered service with the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force in the 1990s and 2000s. The class comprised ten vessels, all of which remain in active service including two which have been sold to the Bangladesh Navy. They were a follow-on of the Type 053H2G frigate class. The Zulfiquar-class frigate used by the Pakistan Navy was based on the Type 053H3.

History

In the 1980s, the PLAN ordered Shanghai-based Hudong Shipyard (now Hudong–Zhonghua Shipyard) to build a replacement for the Type 053K air defence frigate. The new class was based on the Type 053H2 frigate and designated Type 053H2G. Development was carried out under Project 055.[citation needed]

The Type 053H2G was slightly larger than the Type 053H2, and equipped with HQ-61B surface-to-air missiles (SAM). The HQ-61 proved unsatisfactory and the class was quickly superseded by the Type 053H3, which was an improved Type 053H2G equipped with HQ-7 SAMs. The HQ-7 was a Chinese-produced version of the French R330 Sea Crotale. Ten Type 053H3s were produced between 1996 and 2005.[citation needed]

The most obvious visual distinction between Type 053H2 & H3 are: The Type 053H3's have HQ-7 instead of HQ-61B SAMs, 8 C-802 anti-ship missiles instead of 6, and aft AAA mounts elevated compared to the 053H2. The Type 053H3 class was briefly equipped with HQ-61B SAM system before being replaced by HQ-7 during upgrade. Some sources claim that the upgraded version is also called Type 057.[citation needed]

Transfers to Bangladesh

The earliest two units, Jiaxing and Lianyungang, were selected in 2020 for sale to Bangladesh. However, Putian was subsequently substituted for Jiaxing. Both ships were recommissioned in the Bangladesh Navy in November 2020 and renamed as shown below.[citation needed]

Mid-life upgrade

A limited, mid-life upgrade was observed for the 053H3 starting in 2015. Visible difference include the replacement of the ESM/EW suite/radars to similar systems from the Type 054, replacement of the HQ-7 with the HHQ-10 short range air defense missile and replacement of the 4 × Type 76A 37 mm guns with a new 2 × Type 630 30 mm CIWS similar to the Gryazev-Shipunov AO-18K.[citation needed]

Ships of class

Number	Pennant Number	Name	Namesake	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Fleet	Status
1	521	嘉兴 / Jiaxing	City of Jiaxing	Hudong, Shanghai	10 August 1997	August 1998	East Sea Fleet	Active
2	522	连云港 / Lianyungang	City of Lianyungang	Hudong, Shanghai	8 August 1997	January 1999	East Sea Fleet	Sold to the Bangladesh Navy as BNS Umar Farooq (F-16).
3	523	莆田 / Putian	City of Putian	Hudong, Shanghai	10 August 1998	December 1999	East Sea Fleet	Sold to the Bangladesh Navy as BNS Abu Ubaidah (F-19)
4	524	三明 / Sanming	City of Sanming	Hudong, Shanghai	December 1998	25 December 1999	East Sea Fleet	Active.
5	564	宜昌 / Yichang	City of Yichang	Huangpu, Guangzhou	October 1998	December 1999	North Sea Fleet[citation needed]	Active / Relegated to training role
6	565	葫芦岛/ Huludao	City of Huludao	Huangpu, Guangzhou	April 1999	July 2000	North Sea Fleet	Active / Relegated to training role
7	566	怀化 / Huaihua	City of Huaihua	Hudong, Shanghai	January 2001	2 June 2002	East Sea Fleet	Active.
8	567	襄阳 / Xiangyang	City of Xiangyang	Huangpu, Guangzhou	August 2001	September 2002	East Sea Fleet	Active. Ex-Xiangfan, renamed in June 2011.
9	528	绵阳 / Mianyang	City of Mianyang	Huangpu, Guangzhou	30 May 2004	October 2004	North Sea Fleet	Active.
10	527	洛阳 / Luoyang	City of Luoyang	Hudong, Shanghai	1 August 2004	January 2005	North Sea Fleet	Active.

External links

Media related to Type 053H3 frigate at Wikimedia Commons