Update on the Type 051B Destroyer's Mid Life Upgrade from Henri K on Eastpendulum. The Type 051B is a 6 000 ton destroyer first launched in 1999. Only one vessel of this class was ever built. Note that the original article is in French:
http://www.eastpendulum.com/unique-destroyer-type-051b-peau-neuve
The unique Type 051B destroyer gets a makeover
Images released by the Chinese navy recently show that the mid-life modernization of its
Shenzhen destroyer , which has immobilized the building for more than three years, is now fully completed. The single hull of its Class Type 051B has therefore reinstated the naval forces of the South Operations Theater Command, and appeared in particular at the
departure of a battalion of Chinese Marines for the South China Sea at the beginning of the month .
The 6,600-ton full-load destroyer was the most advanced and also the most "heavy" first-class ship for the Chinese navy when it was commissioned in February 1999, before being quickly overtaken in overall performance by the Chinese navy. Type 052C arrived five years later, which has a combat system comparable to the American Aegis.
Many observers considered it an "experimental" vessel because it is the only one of its class, which is not in the Chinese habit, but in reality it has never been served as a test bench but a real warship.
And the Type 051B platform is also reused in the design of Type 051C, another class of Chinese antiaircraft destroyer, with two hulls commissioned by the Chinese Navy at the turn of the century to integrate the Russian SAM S-300FM system and strengthen the naval anti-aircraft capability of the Beijing Protection Circle.
The Type 051B destroyer returned to the South Fleet and appeared publicly in early January at the Zhanjiang Naval Base (Photo: Chinese Navy)
This redesign Type 051B performed by the military shipyard 4804 (also called Haibin Shipyard) since late 2014 further demonstrates China's pragmatism in armaments, and for proof, the renovation of 167 MLU
Shenzhen builds mainly and mainly on systems that have already reached maturity on other vessels, so that the vessel can integrate quickly with existing fleets.
Thus, the only real "novelty" is probably the replacement of the 16 YJ-83 subsonic anti-ship missiles by 8 YJ-12A supersonic missiles, which makes the Type 051B the first Chinese navy surface vessel to be equipped. of this new generation missile.
The detailed specification of this Chinese Sea-Sea missile is still unknown, but its YJ-12 airborne version, which must be carried by bombers such as H-6G or H-6KH because of its length and also its mass, is designed to fly to Mach 3.2 at a maximum range of 380 km. It is a missile that primarily targets large enemy warships.
It should be noted that the new Type 051B, which is being redone, has not equipped with Type 366 trans-horizon passive / active radar systems, as for the Type 052C, Type 052D destroyers or Type 054A frigates. This multi-band radar can guide anti-ship missiles beyond the skyline, or detect naval targets passively once the buildings equipping this network.
The absence of a dedicated firing lane radar is equivalent to saying that YJ-12A guidance launched by
Shenzhen will be carried out remotely, either by other ships or on-board helicopters. As such, the Chinese destroyer preserves its double hangar after the modernization, a rather rare configuration on Chinese buildings of first rank today.
The visible changes on the destroyer 167 Shenzhen (Image: East Pendulum)
Chinese supersonic anti-ship missile YJ-12
Other visible changes from outside the vessel include the integration of a 32-silo AJK-16 Vertical Launch System (VLS) capable of launching medium range medium range HQ-16 or HQ-16C anti-aircraft missiles. , and Yu-8 powered torpedoes. This VLS system therefore replaces the old 8-tube H / HQ-7 tilted launcher that can only provide moderate protection to the ship and even less to the fleet.
The guidance system has been changed from a Type 345 radar to 4 HQ-16 fire channel radars, which can track two targets simultaneously.
The 4 old type 37 37 mm bore two-tube barrels leave 2 CIWS H / PJ-11 systems at a rate of 10,000 rd / min. The same 30-mm 11-tube gun system, designed to intercept direct impact targets flying to Mach 4, already equips Chinese frigates and new-generation destroyers, and can be found on both Chinese aircraft carriers. also.
Since each CIWS has its own optronic and radar tracking system, the old Type 347G firing lane radars for secondary guns have simply been removed.
The Type 051B destroyer before its MLU transformation
On the reconnaissance side, the old Type 517H-1 long-range aerial surveillance radar has been removed, and the Type 360S surface search radar and the Type 381 3D aerial search radar have been replaced by Type 364 and Type 382. respectively. This pair of radars becomes a standard composition that has already proven itself on other Chinese buildings such as the Type 052B destroyer and the Type 054A frigate.
The electronic warfare capability is also another focus for the new Type 051B at its MLU. The old NRJ6A system derived from Israeli technologies is giving way to the integrated Type 726 suite, which includes several ESM subsystems, active jammers and multi-function multi-spectral decoy launchers.
The same type of antennas with various functions appear as the Type 052C and Type 052D destroyers at the top of the main
Shenzhen 167 masts . And there are two more but one SATCOM station that has been moved to the top of the hangar, as for the new Chinese frigates.
For the almost invisible part, ie combat suites, data links and anti-submarine systems for example, local sources indicate that the old HN-900 data links have been updated to a new trans-armored protocol, covering all the existing features of HN-901, 902, 903 and 905, and ensures encrypted exchanges between air, naval and ground forces.
The ZKJ-6 Central Command System has also been replaced by the new ZKT Vessel Command and Fleet Command ZKB to maintain the capability of the Type 051B to serve as a Fleet Command Vessel.
The H / SJD-9 hull sonar remains unchanged on the destroyer, but the destroyer would have lost the ability to deploy a TASS towed sonar, such as the H / SJG-206 model used by the ASW Type 056A corvettes or the Type 054A frigates. , since the opening dedicated to this function before the renovation is now completely sealed. This lightening of anti-submarine means could mean a more pronounced re-orientation on the anti-ship for the second life of the destroyer Type 051B.
In sum, it seems that the Chinese navy has chosen the best compromise possible for an "old" steam-powered platform to regain the same general level as the current leading ships at the lowest cost. A philosophy that is also found on the frigates Type 053H3, as mentioned in our file "
A new CIWS for the old Chinese frigates " a year ago.
Henri K.
