''Xining'' (117) is a

Type 052D destroyer The Type 052D destroyer (NATO/ OSD Luyang III-class destroyer) is a class of guided-missile destroyers in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. The Type 052D is a larger variant of the Type 052C; the Type 052D uses a canister-type, instead ...

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 on 22 June 2017.

Development and design

The basic ship type and layout of the ''Type 052D'' guided-missile destroyer is the same as that of the

Type 052C destroyer The Type 052C destroyer (NATO/Office of the Secretary of Defense, OSD Luyang II-class destroyer) is a ship class, class of guided-missile destroyers in the China, Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (PLAN). The Type 052C introduc ...

, but compared to the earlier Type 052C destroyer, the Type 052D superstructure has a larger inclination angle and provides better stealth performance. At the same time, the 052C helicopter hangar is located The left side of the hull axis was changed to the center axis of the ship on Type 052D; a pair of small boat storage compartments were added on both sides of the hangar, similar to the design on the

Type 054A frigate The Type 054A (NATO/ OSD Jiangkai II) is a 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 capability in th ...

. The close in weapon system is composed of a H/PJ-12 short-range defense weapon system located in front of the bridge and a 24 Hongqi-10 air defense missile system located on the top of the hangar, which is combined to form a ladder interception. The original 100mm naval gun was replaced by a higher height and better stealth model H/PJ45 naval gun. On May 13, 2019, the extended version of the 052DL was exposed. The hull of the 052DL is basically the same as the 052D, but the helicopter deck is lengthened to prepare for the Zhi-20 to board the ship. The Type 52D is the first Chinese surface combatant to use canister-based universal VLS, as opposed to the concentric type VLS carried aboard earlier vessels. 64 cells are carried; 32 forward and 32 aft.Li: page 44 The VLS is reportedly an implementation of the

GJB 5860-2006 GJB 5860-2006 () is a Chinese military technical standard describing a vertical launching system (VLS) for all types of missiles aboard surface combatants. Cells have a square crosssection with sides, and may be , , or deep. Each cell carries on ...

standard. The VLS may fire the extended-range variant of the

HHQ-9 The HQ-9 () is a long-range semi-active radar homing (SARH) surface-to-air missile (SAM) developed by the People's Republic of China. The naval variant is the HHQ-9 (). Description The HQ-9 is a derivative of the Russian S-300. Justin Bronk d ...

surface-to-air missile,

YJ-18 The YJ-18 (, NATO designation CH-SS-NX-13) is a Chinese family of anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles. Description The United States Department of Defense believes the YJ-18 is similar to the Russian 3M-54 Klub, with a subsonic cruise m ...

anti-ship cruise missiles, and CY-5 anti-submarine missiles.

Construction and career

''Xining'' was the fifth ship of the class and launched on 26 August 2014 at the

Jiangnan Shipyard Jiangnan Shipyard () 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. Before 2009, the company was south of central Shanghai at ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. Commissioned on 22 June 2017. 30 December 2019, ''Xining'' left

Chabahar Port Chabahar Port ( fa, بندر چابهار) is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman. It serves as Iran's only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named ''Shahid Kalantari'' and ''Shahid Beheshti'', ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

after a joint naval exercise with Russian Navy. The exercise was held in the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا� ...

from December 27-30. On 22 May 2022, the ''Xining'' conducted drills in the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

as a part of the Liaoning Carrier Group; and they were sighted near

Miyako Island is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Miyako Island is administered as part of the City of Miyakojima, which includes not only Miyako Island, but also five other populated islands ...

by the

JMSDF , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xining 2014 ships Ships built in China Type 052D destroyers