''Shenzhen'' (167) is a

Type 051B destroyer The Type 051B destroyer (NATO reporting name: Luhai class) is a class of destroyer built by the People's Republic of China. It consists of only one ship, ''Shenzhen'' (167). When ''Shenzhen'' was commissioned into the People's Liberation Army N ...

of the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese ...

. She was commissioned in February 1999.

Development and design

The ''Shenzhen'' was intended to be an experimental vessel with improvements over the ''Luhu''-class' in terms of modular construction and stealth. The ship is powered by two indigenous steam turbine engines. The main purpose of the Type 051B was to gain experience in modern naval ship design and construction, and refining the knowledge and skills accumulated from the earlier Type 052, such as integrating many different foreign subsystems on the Type 052 more effectively.

Construction and career

''Shenzhen'' was launched on 16 October 1997 at the Dalian Shipyard in

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

. Commissioned in 1999. ''Shenzhen'' participated in the PLA Navy's first goodwill visit to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in 2000 Also the first visit to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in 2001 and the first visit to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in 2007. In 2004, she received its mid-life modernization refit, with its original 100mm main gun and the HQ-7 air defense missile system being replaced by improved models. Type 051B destroyer 167 ''Shenzhen'' visited

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, India for four days in August 2009, after deployment in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) 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 Channe ...

on anti-piracy operations. In early 2015, she was spotted at the Zhanjiang naval base undergoing work. Initially it was unclear whether this was due to a midlife refit program or decommissioning, but pictures revealed in January 2016 that the ship was being refitted with new systems. For self-defense, the four old Type 76A 37 mm AA guns were replaced with two H/PJ-11 eleven-barreled 30 mm

CIWS 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 la ...

(export designation Type 1130), one covering each side. In May 2020, it was revealed that the Type 051B had its YJ-83 subsonic ASMs replaced with 16 supersonic

YJ-12 The YJ-12 () is a Chinese supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. Description The YJ-12 is an air-launched missile that resembles a lengthened Kh-31 and is close in shape to the GQM-163 Coyote aerial target. A 2011 article in the United States Na ...

missiles.

Gallery

File:Chinese destroyer Shenzhen DDG167.jpg, ''Shenzhen'' entering

Apra Harbor Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwa ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

on 12 October 2003. File:Type 051B destroyer.jpg, ''Shenzhen'' entering

on 12 October 2003. File:US Navy 031022-N-6346B-045 The guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) leads the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) guided missile destroyer Shenzhen (DDG 167) into Apra Harbor, Guam.jpg, ''Shenzhen'' and

USS Chancellorsville USS ''Robert Smalls'' (CG-62) is a guided-missile cruiser built during the Cold War for the United States Navy. Ship commissioning, Commissioned in 1989, the warship was originally named USS ''Chancellorsville'' for the American Civil War Battl ...

on 22 October 2003. File:US Navy 031022-N-6346B-004 The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) guided missile destroyer Shenzhen (DDG 167) sails into Apra Harbor, Guam.jpg, ''Shenzhen'' in

on 22 October 2003. File:Shenzhen (DDG 167).jpg, ''Shenzhen'' in

on 25 October 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shenzhen 1997 ships Ships built in China Type 051B destroyers