''Hengyang'' (568) is a

Type 054A frigate The Type 054A (NATO/ OSD Jiangkai II) is a Ship class, class of guided-missile frigate from the People's Republic of China. It is a development of the Type 054 frigate; compared to its predecessor, the Type 054A has medium-range air defense capa ...

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 on 30 June 2008.

Development and design

The Type 054A carries

HQ-16 The HQ-16 (; NATO reporting name: CH-SA-16) is a Chinese medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). It is derived f ...

medium-range air defence missiles and anti-submarine missiles in a

vertical launching system A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mo ...

(VLS) system. The HQ-16 has a range of up to 50 km, with superior range and engagement angles to the Type 054's

HQ-7 The HQ-7 (; NATO reporting name: CH-SA-4) is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the People's Republic of China. It was reverse-engineered by the Changfeng Electromechanical Technology Design Institute from the French R-440 Crotale ...

. The Type 054A's VLS uses a hot launch method; a shared common exhaust system is sited between the two rows of rectangular launching tubes. The four

AK-630 The AK-630 is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber. The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic ...

close-in weapon systems A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of l ...

(CIWS) of the Type 054 were replaced with two

Type 730 CIWS The Type 730 is a Chinese seven-barrelled 30 mm Gatling gun/rotary cannon CIWS. It has a PLA Navy designation H/PJ12. It is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and directed by radar, and electro-optical tracking systems. The maximum ...

on the Type 054A. The autonomous Type 730 provides improved reaction time against close-in threats.

Construction and career

''Hengyang'' was launched on 23 May 2007 at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in

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 ...

. Commissioned on 30 June 2008. On 27 March 2013, ''Hengyang'',

Huangshan Huangshan ( zh, s=黄山),Bernstein, pp. 125–127. literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. It was originally called "Yishan", and it was renamed because of a legend that Em ...

and Qinghaihu arrived in

Grand Harbour The Grand Harbour (; ), also known as the Port of Marsa, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks ( Malta Dockyard), wharves, and fortifications. Description The h ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. ''Hengyang'',

Honghu Honghu () is a county-level city in the municipal region of Jingzhou, in the central south of Hubei province. The city lies on the northwest (left) bank of the Yangtze River, across from Hunan Province and Xianning, Hubei. It is named after the ...

and Yulin made a goodwill visit to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in June 2017. In late February 2025, the ''Hengyang'' along with the

Type 055 destroyer The Type 055 destroyer (NATO/ OSD designation Renhai-class cruiser) is a class of stealth guided-missile destroyers (rated as guided-missile cruisers per NATO/OSD standard parlance) constructed for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (P ...

Zunyi Zunyi ( zh, s=遵义 , t=遵義 , p=Zūnyì) is a prefecture-level city in northern Guizhou province, People's Republic of China, situated between the provincial capital Guiyang to the south and Chongqing to the north, also bordering Sichuan to t ...

'' and the

Type 903 replenishment ship The Type 903 combined replenishment ship ( zh, 903型综合补给舰, NATO reporting name: ''Fuchi'') is a class of replenishment oiler (AOR) built for the People's Liberation Army Navy, serving as a principal fleet auxiliary ship for blue-water ...

'' Weishanhu'' traversed the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

and conducted

live-fire exercise A live fire exercise (LFX) is a military exercise in which live ammunition and ordnance is used, as opposed to blanks or dummies. The term can also be found in non-military usage. Military Militaries usually use live-fire exercises as an op ...

s within Australia's exclusive economic zone in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

, disrupting several international flights between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

, before continuing west to circumnavigate the entire continent of Australia. Their activities were monitored by both the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

and

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; , "Line of Defence of New Zealand") is the three-branched military of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and its realm, promoting its interests, ...

s, with some Australian media labeling it "

gunboat diplomacy Gunboat diplomacy is the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power, implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare should terms not be agreeable to the superior force. The term originated in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hengyang 2007 ships Ships built in China Type 054 frigates