''Nantong'' (601) is a

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 ...

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 23 January 2019.

Development and design

The Type 054A carries

HQ-16 The HQ-16 () is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the People's Republic of China. It is derived from earlier versions of the Russian Buk missile system. Development Development began in 2005, and was reportedly assisted by the Alm ...

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 mor ...

(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 is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by populati ...

. 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 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 turret and dir ...

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 rat ...

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

Construction and career

''Nantong'' was launched on 16 December 2017 at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in

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 23 January 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nantong 2017 ships Ships built in China Type 054 frigates