After 40 pieces of the 054A and 72 of the 056 series, the lead ship of the newest 054B frigate of the PLA Navy was launched at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai on August 26. From the appearance point of view, 054B has two characteristics, one is a double-sided shield phased array radar, and the other is an integrated RF mast system.
The Type 054B frigate is a new generation of domestic ocean-going frigates, which mainly accompany aircraft carrier formations to perform ocean-going maneuvering tasks. The 054B project was developed by CSIC Group, and the comprehensive demonstration review of the project was completed as early as early 2012, and then the design work was carried out until it was launched in 2023, a full 11 years later.
The 054B frigate is 147 meters long, 18.5 meters wide, has a displacement of about 6000 tons and a maximum speed of more than 30 knots. The main gun of the 054B is a single-barreled 100mm naval gun, which has obvious advantages over the 76mm main gun of the 054A in terms of range and power, and the rate of fire of the 100mm rapid-fire gun up to 90 rounds / min can better perform the strike mission against the sea and the shore. Behind the main gun were the 32-cell vertical firing system and the 1130 close-in gun. The most notable feature of the 054B is the rotatable double-sided phased array anti-air radar on top of the tower mast behind the bridge. Its air situational awareness has been greatly enhanced, and its overall air defense capability is expected to reach the level of Type 052C destroyers, comparable to the current mainstream destroyers in Europe. Behind is an integrated RF mast, which integrates communications, electronic warfare, navigation and other systems, thereby effectively reducing the volume and weight of the system and improving the ship's electromagnetic compatibility performance.
The rear of the hull is a helicopter hangar and deck, with jamming launchers on both sides of the top of the hangar, and a Haihongqi-10 close-range ship-to-air missile launcher in the tail. Equipped with the 054B is a Haizhi 20 helicopter. The stern of the ship can see the large hatch that retracts and plays the active and passive deepening of the sonar.
Unit 32 of the 054B frigate can launch the Haihongqi-16F ship-to-air missile using active radar seeker and achieve four bombs in one pit, and can also launch Yu-8 rocket-assisted torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare or YJ-18A anti-ship missiles, or even YJ-21 hypersonic anti-ship missiles, if the YJ-21 missile really goes on board, then 054B will become the world's strongest general-purpose frigate. In addition, the 054B is equipped with two 4-mount anti-ship missile inclined launchers, which can launch YJ-83 anti-ship missiles or YJ-12A supersonic anti-ship missiles. In terms of close defense system, the 054B has a 24-mounted Haihongqi-10 short-range air defense system and a 1130 close-in defense gun.
The 054B frigate should be greatly enhanced in terms of anti-submarine than the Type 054A. In addition to the 054A anti-submarine torpedo, towed sonar and other carrier-based anti-submarine equipment, 054B will greatly strengthen aviation anti-submarine and long-range anti-submarine capabilities.
The biggest advantage of 054B frigates is low cost and fast construction speed, at present, Hudong-Zhonghua and Huangpu Wenchong are involved in the construction of 054B, the first 054B frigate can be delivered to the troops around 2025, according to the speed of building 12 ships in 1 year, the PLA will build nearly 50 054B in 2027, and the PLA will usher in the era of full shield ships.