Shipborne C3I System

Last updated: 27 January 2007

Until the mid-1980s surface combatants in the PLA Navy were still relying on the old fashioned voice communications such as intra-ship speaker and telephone for ship command and control. 709 Institute based in Wuhan, Hubei Province began to develop an indigenous shipborne combat data system known as “673-II Intelligence Centre” in the mid-1970s. The system was able to track 17 airborne, surface and underwater targets simultaneously and calculate the target movement parameters for the weapon fire-control system. The system could also display tactical situation and record combat and training data for analysis. The system entered service in the 1980s and was installed on some of the Type 051 (Luda class) destroyers.

However, the “673-II” system was still obsolete compared to Western designs. In 1990 the French company Thomson-CSF (now Thales) sold two sets of its TAVITAC (Traitement Automatique et Visulation TACtique) combat data system to China. This is the PLA Navy’s first modernised shipborne C3 system, and they were installed on 165 Zhanjiang (Type 051 Luda-I class) and 166 Zhuhai (Type 051G Luda-III class) destroyers for trial and evaluation.

The TAVITAC system was developed in the early 1980s for tactical data handling. It employs a mainframe system and consists of several one-man display consoles for missions such as weapon fire-control and anti-submarine warfare. The system was relatively obsolete compared to the upgraded TAVITAC-2000 system serving with the French and Taiwanese navies. China may have developed a reverse-engineered copy of the TAVITAC known as ECIC-1, but no evidence has been found showing that it was in operational service.

Second-Generation Combat Data System: The combat data system onboard the Type 052 (Luhu class) DDG, featuring a three-man central control station with a large round horizontal colour display for tactical situation (Source: Chinese Internet)

In 1999 the PLA Navy received a Type 051B (Luhai class) multirole destroyer Shenzhen (167). The ship was equipped with China’s third-generation shipborne combat data system, reportedly designated ZJK-4-3A. The system employs a 10Mbps common bus architecture and digital electronic technology for better processing capability. Like the second-generation combat data system, the ZJK-4-3A also had a three-man central control station with a horizontal colour display, but the display is in rectangle shape in contrast to the round shape display of the last generation product.

The ZJK-4-3A is estimated to be capable of tracking several hundred air, surface and underwater targets simultaneously. The system designates these targets to weapon systems as well as providing assistance in threat priorities and situational awareness for the ship commanders. The system is also thought to be able to connect with off-board sensors (e.g. another ship or AWACS aircraft) using a datalink. The PLA Navy has already deployed a datalink system similar to the Link 11 of Western navies.

When the PLA Navy was known to be building two Type 052B (Luyang class) and two Type 052C (Luyang-II class) guided missile destroyers in 2002~03, the combat data system that would be used on these ships immediately became a topic of interest. Some reports suggested that the Type 052B destroyer is equipped with a new-generation ZJK-5 combat data system developed by 709 Institute in Wuhan. The system is said to be based on a 100Mbps Ethernet architecture which forms a local area network (LAN) to integrate the ship’s sensors and weapon fire-control systems.

The Type 052C (with phased array radar system and VLS) is said to be equipped with a more capable H/ZBJ-1 combat data system. Some TV footages of the PLA Navy’s new generation CIC released by the Chinese state media revealed a very modernised system with multiple wall-mount large displays and improved display consoles. The system is reportedly capable of providing the fleet commanders with a picture of the tactical situation using inputs from radars and other sensors both on the ship and from remote sources (e.g. airborne early warning and target acquisition). The system is also connected with the land-based fleet command centre and C3I centre at the theatre level via high-speed datalink.

Third-Generation Combat Data System: The third-generation combat data system on the Type 052B/C DDG also features a three-man display console, but the display is in rectangle shape in contrast to the round shape display of the last generation product (Source: CCTV footage)