Type 051 Luda Class Missile Destroyer

Last updated: 3 September 2008

Type 051 destroyers of the PLA Navy in exercise (Chinese Internet)

A total of 17 Type 051 (NATO reporting name: Luda class) missile destroyers were built between 1970 and 1991 for the PLA Navy. The class was the PRC’s first independently developed destroyer. Since the 1990s, four hulls (No.109, No.110, No.165, and No.166) have been upgraded with new weapons and sensors in order to improve their anti-surface and air defence capabilities. Decommission of the Type 051 began in late 2007, with Xi’an (hull 106), Jinan (hull 105), and Changsha (hull 161) already retired from active duty. The rest of the ships are expected to be gradually phased out in the coming years as they reach the end of their operational lives.

In the mid-1960s, the PLA Navy sought to build new class of destroyer which would serve as a multipurpose platform for a number of roles, including sizing sea control in offshore waters to eliminate the threat of enemy anti-submarine forces to PRC submarines; obtaining sea dominance against the ROC Navy in the Taiwan Strait; protecting PRC’s interests in the South China Sea; and escorting survey ships to the target zone in the South Pacific for the DF-5 ICBM full-range flight test.

At 3,000 tonnes displacement, the Type 051 was substantially larger than earlier surface combatant operated by the PLA Navy and had almost twice the displacement of the 1,600 tonnes Type 07 (Anshan class) destroyers. The vessel is powered by four boilers and two steam turbines, giving a maximum speed of 32 knots. The destroyer is equipped with a wide range of weapons and sensors for air defence, surface strike, and anti-submarine roles. It was also the first PRC-built surface combatant capable of receiving underway replenishment, which enables it to operate continuously at sea without having to return to its base.

The design of the Type 051 was carried out by 701 Institute based in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The design was officially approved in June 1967, and the first hull No.223 (now Jinan No.105) began construction at the Dalian Shipyard in 1968. The vessel was launched in July 1970 and commissioned by the PLA Navy in December 1971. The first test fire of the HY-1 anti-ship missile from the destroyer was carried out in September 1973, while the design team was still working on finalising the destroyer design.

In 1975, the Type 051 was certified for design finalisation. By then, construction of the destroyer was carried out at three locations simultaneously: Dalian Shipyard, Zhonghua Shipyard (Shanghai), and Guangzhou Shipyard. Later hulls have been added with improved radars. The last two hulls constructed in the late 1980s, No.165 (Zhanjiang) and No.166 (Zhuhai), also feature a C3I system consisting of combat information centre, long-range 3D air/sea-search radar, and ECM suite. Some hulls have completed modernisation programme, during which they received YJ-8 AShM, HQ-7/Crotale SAM, Type 76A dual-37mm AAA, Type 363 (TSR3004 Sea Tiger) air-surface search radar, 324mm ASW torpedo launchers, etc. One of the hulls was also added with a hanger and flight deck to support a Z-9 ASW/SAR helicopter.

Despite its improvement over precious PRC-built surface combatants in size, weapons, and sensors, the Type 051 was often criticized as being deficient in overall combat capabilities and unsuitable for long-endurance sea operations. The destroyer only had limited air defence against a very narrow range of air threats, making it highly vulnerable on modern battlefield at sea. Partially based on the 1950s-era Soviet Kotlin class destroyer, the Type 051 has very limited redundancy to damage in its hull design and extremely poor living condition onboard. Additionally, the destroyer’s radar and communication systems were very dated and there is no NBC protection. Some of these weaknesses have been addressed during the modernisation refit programmes. Ships that have received the refit include Kaifeng (1091), Dalian (110), Zhanjiang (165), and Zhuhai (166).

Nevertheless,  through the Type 051 programme, the PRC shipbuilding industry obtained valuable knowledge and experience in designing and building large surface combatants independently. These knowledge and experience were later applied in the design and building of larger, more advanced destroyers introduced since the 1990s. With more new-generation destroyers and frigates being introduced, the PLA Navy has finally begun to retire its Type 051s. The first two hulls of the class were decommissioned in October 2007. The remaining hulls are expected to be retired from active duty within a decade.

Variants

The Type 051 destroyers have been constructed in three batches and can be identified in seven variants.

Type 051 Mod 1 variant (Chinese Internet)

Type 051 Mod 2 variant (Chinese Internet)