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Luyang III/Type 052D guided-missile destroyer
The Luyang III/Type 052D guided-missile destroyer Hefei entered service in late 2015.
Chinese Ministry of Defense

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China’s Luyang III/Type 052D Destroyer Is a Potent Adversary

By Eric Wertheim
January 2020
Proceedings
Combat Fleets
View Issue
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Chinese naval threats have grown by leaps and bounds during the past decade. No class of surface warship has demonstrated this newfound naval might more than the modern Luyang III–class guided-missile destroyers, also known as the Type 052D, which began entering service in 2014.

These air-defense destroyers are fitted with the four-panel Type 346A (NATO reporting name: Dragon Eye) multifunction phased-array radar system, which is combined with a 64-cell missile vertical launching system (VLS) to offer long-range area air-defense, modern antiship, and—potentially—land-attack cruise-missile capabilities.

The VLS launchers are fitted in two 32-cell sets, one forward of the helicopter hangar and a second aft of the 5.1-inch gun. Carried inside is a reported mix of HHQ-9 surface-to-air (SAM), YJ-18 antiship cruise (ASCM), and CY-5 antisubmarine missiles.

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Eric Wertheim

Mr. Wertheim, a defense consultant in the Washington, DC, area, is the author of the 16th edition of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, available from the Naval Institute Press.

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