Joins at Least 21 Of Same Class
An 11 January report published by js7tv.cn, a PLA-affiliated video news website, confirms that the Type 052D (Luyang III class) destroyer Guilin is now in service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The warship, inducted into the South Sea Fleet, took part in live-fire exercises earlier this year.
Built at the Jiangnan Changxingdao shipyard near Shanghai and launched in 2019, took part in manoeuvres alongside Type 054A (Jiangkai II) class frigates Hengyang and Huangshan. The destroyer is one of the ‘stretched’ variants commonly referred to as Type 052DL – at 161m, they are 4m longer than the originals, with a consequently larger flight deck.
At least 22 of the 25 Type 052D destroyers launched thus far are believed to be in PLAN service. These 7,000+t destroyers, which have a complement of 280, are equipped with 64 vertical launch cells that can deploy HHQ-9 surface-to-air missiles and the anti-ship variant of the YJ-18A long-range cruise missile.