''Kunming'' (172) 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 21 March 2014.

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 Type 052C helicopter

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

is located on the left side of the hull axis. This was changed to the center axis of the ship on the 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 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 ...

is composed of a H/PJ-12 short-range defense weapon system located in front of the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and a 24 Hongqi-10

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

missile system located on the top of the hangar, which is combined to form a ladder interception. The original naval gun was replaced by a higher height and better stealth model H/PJ45 naval gun. On 13 May 2019, the extended version of the Type 052DL was exposed. The hull of the Type 052DL is basically the same as the Type 052D, but the

helicopter deck A helicopter deck (or helo deck) is a helicopter pad on the deck of a ship, usually located on the stern and always clear of obstacles that would prove hazardous to a helicopter landing. In the United States Navy, it is commonly and properly ref ...

is lengthened to prepare for the Zhi-20 to board the ship. The Type 052D is the first Chinese surface combatant to use canister-based universal

vertical launch 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), 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 A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

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

''Kunming'' is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the class and was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 16 February 2012 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 ...

. She was launched on 29 August 2012 and commissioned on 21 March 2014. On 26 October 2015, a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

destroyer approached within of Chinese islands and reefs in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

. ''Kunming'' was sent to surveil the American ship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunming 2012 ships Ships built in China Type 052D destroyers