Type 051B destroyer
DDG 167 Shenzhen in Apra Harbor, Guam
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| Class overview | |
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| Operators: |
 People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force
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| Preceded by: | Type 052 |
| Succeeded by: | Sovremennyy-class destroyer |
| Cost: | 2 billion renminbi yuan per ship by 1980s price |
| In service: | 1999 |
| Completed: | 1 |
| Active: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 6,100 tons |
| Length: | 153 m |
| Beam: | 16.5 m |
| Draught: | 6 m |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) |
| Range: | 14,000 miles |
| Complement: | 250 (40 officers) |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 2 helicopters: (Kamov Ka-28 or Harbin Z-9C) |
| Aviation facilities: |
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The Type 051B Luhai-class is a class of destroyer built by the People's Republic of China. It consists of only one ship, No.167 Shenzhen. When Shenzhen was commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force in 1998, it was then, the largest surface combatant that China had ever built. It resembles in many ways an enlarged version of the Luhu-class destroyer, and is one of the first PLAN ships with a slope-sided hull to reduce radar signature. The 051B was succeeded by the domestic Type 052B, discounting the 4 Soviet built Sovremennyy-class destroyer China purchased in the interim.
Shenzhen was laid down by the Dalian Shipyard in May 1996. The Shenzhen was intended to be an experimental vessel with improvements over the Luhu-class' in terms of modular construction and stealth. The ship is powered by two indigenous steam turbine engines, due to Dalian Shipyard's experience in steam turbine construction and that Chinese domestic research and development on marine gas turbines had not yet matured. The displacement of the Luhai-class is 2,000 tons heavier than the Type 052 destroyer, Luhu-class. Shenzhen was launched in 1997, although official revelation of the ship's existence did not come until the year following its commissioning. The chief designer of this class is academic, Mr. Pan Jingfu (潘镜芙), who is also the designer of both the Type 051B's predecessor and successor.
The main purpose of the Type 051B was to gain experience in modern naval ship design and construction, and refining the knowledge and skills accumulated from the earlier Type 052, such as integrating many different foreign subsystems on the Type 052 more effectively. The ship is powered by steam turbines due to the 1989 western arms embargo and that domestic gas turbines were not ready in time. The Type 051B also employed stealth construction techniques which resulted in a smaller radar cross section in comparison to its predecessor. Analysts speculated that the ship would have been equipped with an VLS system in the forward section for air-defense SAMs. However, when the ship was finally revealed, it was still armed with the 8-cell HQ-7 SAM launcher. These SAMs lack effectiveness against sea skimming missiles with multiple approaching angles. The PLAN was unsatisfied with the design and no further ships of the class were built. At the time, area air defence for the fleet was the PLAN's priority which older systems couldn't sufficiently provide, and since the capability couldn't be served by the final vessel the gap remained open. As a result, the decision to import two pairs of Sovremennyy-class destroyer from Russia was determined to fulfil the role. However, Type 051B does have an advantage over earlier Chinese principle surface combatants and Russian ships in that it is the first Chinese naval ship to be equipped with fleet formation command and control system so it can act as a flagship of the fleet.
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Wikipedia