''Wuhan'' (169) is the second ship of

Type 052B destroyer The Type 052B (NATO/ OSD Luyang I-class destroyer) is a class of guided-missile destroyers in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (PLAN). The Type 052B was China's first modern destroyer designKirchberger (2015): page 195McDe ...

of the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

. She was commissioned in December 2004.

Development and design

''Type 052B'' multirole missile

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

was the first Chinese-built warship capable of area air defence. The displacement of the Type 052B is about 5850 tons standard and 6500 tons full load. The ship features a "low point" design and combines this with radar absorbing paint to reduce radar signature. The ship's funnel incorporates cooling devices to reduce infrared signatures. The stern flight deck can host a

Kamov Ka-28 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and as of 2024 is in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-2 ...

ASW helicopter.Type 052B Luyang Class Missile Destroyer - SinoDefence.com

Construction and career

''Wuhan'' was launched in February 2002 at the

Jiangnan Shipyard Jiangnan Shipyard ( zh, c=江南造船厂, p=Jiāngnán Zàochuán Chǎng) is a historic shipyard in Shanghai, China. The shipyard has been state-owned since its founding in 1865 and is now operated as Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co. Ltd. Befo ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. She was commissioned in December 2004. On April 2, 2008, the commander of the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

, General James Conway, accompanied by Major General Zhang Leiyu, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff of the People's Liberation Army, began a two-day visit to the South China Sea Fleet. During the visit, ''Wuhan'' and Luo Xiaoshan were open to visit. On December 26, 2008, ''Wuhan'',

Haikou Haikou; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanized as Hoihow is the capital city, capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. ...

and Weishanhu formed the first escort fleet of the Chinese Navy. They set sail from a military port terminal in

Sanya City Sanya; also spelled Samah is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, livin ...

Hainan Province Hainan is an island province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally means "South of the Sea" ...

, and escorted to the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

and Somali waters. The escort mission lasted 124 days and nights with a voyage of more than 33,000 nautical miles. It provided escort for 41 batches of 166 ships, provided regional escorts for 46 ships and successfully rescued 3 foreign ships from being attacked. On April 28, 2009, they returned to the station. On July 26, 2010, ''Wuhan'' participated in a live-fire exercise of the Navy's multi-arms contract organized by the South China Sea Fleet. The exercise was held in a certain area of the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

, highlighting the actual use of weapons in contracted seas, air defense and missile defense, and air control in a complex electromagnetic environment.

Gallery

File:Yalong Bay 2007.JPG, Wuhan entering Yalong Bay in December 2007. File:PLANS Wuhan (DDG-169) 20120506.jpg, ''Wuhan'' underway on 6 May 2012. File:South Sea Fleet 20150610.jpg, ''Wuhan'' underway on 10 June 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wuhan 2002 ships Ships built in China Type 052B destroyers