Type 053H3 frigate

	Jiaxing (521) underway in 2005
Class overview
Name	Type 053H3
Operators	People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force; Bangladesh Navy;
Preceded by	Type 053H2G
Succeeded by	Type 054
Subclasses	Zulfiquar class (Pakistan Navy)
Planned	10
Completed	10
Active	8 (PLAN Surface Force); 2 (Bangladesh Navy);
General characteristics
Type	Frigate
Displacement	2,250 tons standard, 2,393 tons full load
Length	112 m (367 ft 5 in)
Beam	12.4 m (40 ft 8 in)
Draught	4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	CODAD, 2 shaft, ; 2 x 18E390VA diesel at 23,600 hp (17,600 kW); 2 x MTU diesel at 8,715 hp (6,499 kW);
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 15 to 16 knots (28 to 30 km/h)
Complement	168 (with 30 officers)
Sensors and ; processing systems	Type 360 Radar (SR60) surface search, E/F band; Type 517H-1 (Knife Rest) 2D long-range air search, A-band; Type 345 Radar (MR35) HQ-7 surface-to-air missile fire-control, J-band; Type 352 Radar (Square Tie) surface search and SSM fire control, I-band; Type 343GA (Wasp Head) fire control radar for main gun, G/H-band; 2 × Type 347G/EFR-1 (Rice Lamp) dual 37 mm AA gun fire control, I-band; 2 × Racal RM-1290 navigation radar, I-band;
Electronic warfare ; & decoys	Data link: HN-900 (Chinese equivalent of Link 11A/B, to be upgraded); Communication: SNTI-240 SATCOM; Combat Data System: ZKJ-3C; RWD-8 (Jug Pair) intercept; Type 981-3 EW Jammer; SR-210 Radar warning receiver; Type 651A IFF; 2 × Type 946/PJ-46 15-barrel decoy rocket launchers;
Armament	8 × YJ-83 SSM in 2 x 4-cell box launchers; 1 × 8-cell HQ-7 surface-to-air missile system (replaced with 1 x 8-cell HQ-10 on PLA ships); 1 × PJ33A dual 100 mm gun (automatic); 4 × Type 76A dual 37 mm AA guns (replaced with 2 x Type 630 30mm guns on PLA ships); 2 × 6-tube Type 3200 ASW rocket launchers (36 rockets); 2 × DC racks & launcher;
Aircraft carried	Harbin Z-9C
Aviation facilities	Hangar

The Type 053H3 (NATO reporting name: Jiangwei II) is a class of Chinese frigates that entered service with the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force in the 1990s and 2000s. The class comprised ten vessels, all of which remain in active service except for two which have been sold to the Bangladesh Navy.^[3]^[4]^[5] They were a follow-on of the Type 053H2G (Jiangwei I) class. The Zulfiquar-class frigate used by the Pakistan Navy was based on the Type 053H3.^[6]

History

In the 1980s, the PLAN ordered Shanghai-based Hudong Shipyard (now Hudong–Zhonghua Shipyard) to build a replacement for the Type 053K air defence frigate. The new class was based on the Type 053H2 frigate and designated Type 053H2G. Development was carried out under Project 055.

The Type 053H2G was slightly larger than the Type 053H2, and equipped with HQ-61B surface-to-air missiles (SAM). However, the HQ-61 proved unsatisfactory and the class was quickly superseded by the Type 053H3 which was an improved Type 053H2G equipped with HQ-7 SAMs. The HQ-7 was a Chinese-produced version of the French R330 Sea Crotale. Ten Type 053H3s were produced between 1996 and 2005.

The most obvious visual distinction between Jiangwei I & II are: The Jiangwei II's have HQ-7 instead of HQ-61B SAMs, 8 C-802 anti-ship missiles instead of 6, and aft AAA mounts elevated compared to the Jiangwei I. The Jiangwei II class was briefly equipped with HQ-61B SAM system before being replaced by HQ-7 during upgrade, and some sources claim that the upgraded version is also called Type 057.

Transfers to Bangladesh

The earliest two units, Jiaxing and Lianyungang, were selected in 2020 for sale to Bangladesh. However, Putian was subsequently substituted for Jiaxing. Both ships were recommissioned in the Bangladesh Navy on 5 November 2020 and renamed as shown below.

Mid-life upgrade

A limited, mid-life upgrade was observed for the 053H3 starting in 2015. Visible difference include the replacement of the ESM/EW suite/radars to similar systems from the Type 054, replacement of the HQ-7 with the HHQ-10 short range air defense missile and replacement of the 4 × Type 76A 37 mm guns with a new 2 × Type 630 30 mm CIWS similar to the Gryazev-Shipunov AO-18K.^{[citation needed]}

Ships in class

Number	Pennant Number	Name	Namesake	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Fleet	Status
1	521	嘉兴 / Jiaxing	City of Jiaxing	Hudong, Shanghai^[3]	10 August 1997 ^[3]	November 1998 ^[3]	East Sea Fleet	Active ^[7]
2	522	连云港 / Lianyungang	City of Lianyungang	Hudong, Shanghai ^[3]	8 August 1997 ^[3]	February 1999 ^[3]	East Sea Fleet	Sold to the Bangladesh Navy as BNS Umar Farooq (F-16).^[4]^[5]
3	523	莆田 / Putian	City of Putian	Hudong, Shanghai ^[3]	10 August 1998 ^[3]	October 1999 ^[3]	East Sea Fleet	Sold to the Bangladesh Navy as BNS Abu Ubaidah (F-19)^[7]^[8]
4	564	宜昌 / Yichang	City of Yichang	Huangpu, Guangzhou^[3]	October 1998 ^[3]	December 1999 ^[3]	North Sea Fleet	Active.
5	565	葫芦岛/ Huludao	City of Huludao	Huangpu, Guangzhou	April 1999 ^[3]	July 2000	North Sea Fleet	Active.^[9]
6	524	三明 / Sanming	City of Sanming	Hudong, Shanghai ^[3]	December 1998	November 1999 ^[3]	East Sea Fleet	Active.
7	567	襄阳 / Xiangyang	City of Xiangyang	Huangpu, Guangzhou	August 2001 ^[3]	September 2002 ^[3]	East Sea Fleet	Active. Ex-Xiangfan, renamed in June 2011.
8	566	怀化 / Huaihua	City of Huaihua	Hudong, Shanghai ^[3]	January 2001 ^[3]	March 2002 ^[3]	East Sea Fleet	Active.
9	527	洛阳 / Luoyang	City of Luoyang	Hudong, Shanghai	1 August 2004	January 2005 ^[3]	North Sea Fleet	Active.
10	528	绵阳 / Mianyang	City of Mianyang	Huangpu, Guangzhou	30 May 2004	October 2004 ^[3]	North Sea Fleet	Active.

References

^ "Jiangwei frigates- People's Liberation Army Navy". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
^ "Type 053H3 / Jiangwei II Class Frigates". Naval Technology. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Jane's Fighting Ships, 2023-24 Edition, ISBN 978-0-7106-3428 3, page 145.
^ ^a ^b Dominguez, Gabriel (20 December 2019). "China hands over two ex-PLAN frigates to Bangladesh Navy". Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
^ ^a ^b Wang, Shichun (20 December 2019). Huang, Panyue (ed.). "Bangladesh Navy receives two Chinese frigates". China Military. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
^ "Sword / F-22P Class Frigates". Naval Technology. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Chinese Navy Frigate Jiaxing participates in week-long maritime operations". Navy Recognition. April 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
^ "中国2艘053H3护卫舰出口孟加拉正进行升级改造(图)". Sina Military (in Chinese). 24 September 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
^ Originally Yulin, with South Sea Fleet; renamed to Sanya in 2008, then changed to Huludao in April 2013 and transferred to the North Sea Fleet.

External links

Media related to Type 053H3 frigate at Wikimedia Commons

Sino Defense Today

[1] "Jiangwei frigates- People's Liberation Army Navy". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 12 August 2021.

[2] "Type 053H3 / Jiangwei II Class Frigates". Naval Technology. Retrieved 12 August 2021.

[JFS_2023-24-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Jane's Fighting Ships, 2023-24 Edition, ISBN 978-0-7106-3428 3, page 145.

[Dominguez-4] Dominguez, Gabriel (20 December 2019). "China hands over two ex-PLAN frigates to Bangladesh Navy". Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 26 December 2019.

[Wang-5] Wang, Shichun (20 December 2019). Huang, Panyue (ed.). "Bangladesh Navy receives two Chinese frigates". China Military. Retrieved 9 May 2021.

[6] "Sword / F-22P Class Frigates". Naval Technology. Retrieved 10 May 2011.

[NavyRecognition042020-7] "Chinese Navy Frigate Jiaxing participates in week-long maritime operations". Navy Recognition. April 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2021.

[8] "中国2艘053H3护卫舰出口孟加拉正进行升级改造(图)". Sina Military (in Chinese). 24 September 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2021.

[9] Originally Yulin, with South Sea Fleet; renamed to Sanya in 2008, then changed to Huludao in April 2013 and transferred to the North Sea Fleet.

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