''Ma'anshan'' (525) is a

Type 054 frigate The Type 054 (NATO Codename Jiangkai I) is a class of Chinese multi-role frigates that were commissioned in the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force in 2005. They superseded the Type 053H3 frigates. Only two ships, ''Ma'anshan'' (525), and ...

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 18 February 2005.

Development and design

The Type 054 has a stealthy hull design with sloped surfaces, radar absorbent materials, and a reduced superstructure clutter. The main anti-ship armament were YJ-83 sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missiles in two four-cell launchers. It retained the HQ-7

SAM Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

, an improved version of the French Crotale, from the preceding Type 053H3; the HQ-7 had a ready-to-fire 8-cell launcher, with 16 stored in the automatic reloader. Short range defence was improved with four AK-630 CIWS turrets. A 100 mm main gun, also based on a

French design French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

, was mounted.

Construction and career

''Ma'anshan'' was launched on 11 September 2003 at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai. Commissioned on 18 February 2005. On November 28, 2012, ''Ma'anshan'',

Zhoushan Zhoushan , formerly romanized as Chusan, is an urbanized archipelago with the administrative status of a prefecture-level city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. It consists of an archipelago of islands at the southern mouth of H ...

, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Poyanghu integrated supply ship formed a naval open sea training fleet , Passing through the

Miyako Strait The , also known as the Kerama Gap, is a waterway which lies between Miyako Island and Okinawa Island consisting of a 250km-wide passageway with international waters and airspace. It is the widest strait in the Ryukyu Islands. Political significa ...

in batches and entering the waters of the Western Pacific to carry out routine training. On September 25, 2013, ''Ma'anshan'' and Changzhou conducted an anti-submarine exercise organized by the

East China Sea Fleet East China Sea Fleet, China Marine Surveillance () is under command of both East China Sea Branch, State Oceanic Administration and China Marine Surveillance. Overview East China Sea Fleet (CMS)'s headquarters is at . The present commander is ...

in the South China Sea. During the exercise, ''Ma'anshan'' and Changzhou ship-borne helicopters dropped several war mines and successfully destroyed the target. In April 2014, ''Ma'anshan'' and other destroyers of the PLA Navy's

conducted formation anti-submarine and anti-missile training. During mid 2019, ''Ma'anshan'' was docked for overhaul.

Gallery

File:PLANS Ma'anshan (FFG-525) 20151213.jpg, ''Ma'anshan'' underway on 13 December 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma'anshan 2003 ships Ships built in China Type 054 frigates