Type 053H3 frigate on arvau

Wikipedia / Type 053H3 frigate

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 including two which have been sold to the Bangladesh Navy. They were a follow-on of the Type 053H2G frigate class. The used by the Pakistan Navy was based on the Type 053H3.

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). The HQ-61 proved unsatisfactory and the class was quickly superseded by the Type 053H3, which was an improved Type 053H2G equipped with HQ-7 SAMs.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 Type 053H2 & H3 are: The Type 053H3'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 053H2. The Type 053H3 class was briefly equipped with HQ-61B SAM system before being replaced by HQ-7 during upgrade. 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 in 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 37mm guns with a new 2 × Type 630 30mm CIWS similar to the Gryazev-Shipunov AO-18K.

Ships of class

Number	Pennant Number	Name	Namesake	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Fleet	Status
1	521	嘉兴 / Jiaxing	City of Jiaxing	Hudong, Shanghai	10 August 1997	August 1998	East Sea Fleet	Active
2	522	连云港 / Lianyungang	City of Lianyungang	Hudong, Shanghai	8 August 1997	January 1999	East Sea Fleet	Sold to the Bangladesh Navy as BNS Umar Farooq (F-16).
3	523	莆田 / Putian	City of Putian	Hudong, Shanghai	10 August 1998	December 1999	East Sea Fleet	Sold to the Bangladesh Navy as BNS Abu Ubaidah (F-19)
4	524	三明 /	City of Sanming	Hudong, Shanghai	December 1998	25 December 1999	East Sea Fleet	Active.
5	564	宜昌 /	City of Yichang	Huangpu, Guangzhou	October 1998	December 1999	North Sea Fleet	Active / Relegated to training role
6	565	葫芦岛/	City of Huludao	Huangpu, Guangzhou	April 1999	July 2000	North Sea Fleet	Active / Relegated to training role
7	566	怀化 /	City of Huaihua	Hudong, Shanghai	January 2001	2 June 2002	East Sea Fleet	Active.
8	567	襄阳 /	City of Xiangyang	Huangpu, Guangzhou	August 2001	September 2002	East Sea Fleet	Active. Ex-Xiangfan, renamed in June 2011.
9	528	绵阳 /	City of Mianyang	Huangpu, Guangzhou	30 May 2004	October 2004	North Sea Fleet	Active.
10	527	洛阳 /	City of Luoyang	Hudong, Shanghai	1 August 2004	January 2005	North Sea Fleet	Active.

References

External links

Sino Defense Today