Chinese destroyer Hefei (174)

For other ships with the same name, see Chinese ship Hefei.

File:PLANS Hefei (DDG-174) 20160524.jpg Hefei on 25 May 2016.
History
China
Name	Hefei
Namesake	Hefei (合肥)
Builder	Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai
Launched	1 July 2013
Commissioned	12 December 2015
Identification	Pennant number: 174
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class & type	Type 052D destroyer
Displacement	7,500 tons (full load)
Length	157 m (515 ft)
Beam	17 m (56 ft)
Draught	6 m (20 ft)
Propulsion	Combined diesel or gas
Sensors & processing systems	Type 346 radar Type 518 radar Variable depth sonar Towed array sonar
Armament	1 x 130 mm gun 1 × HQ-10 short-range SAM 24-cell launcher 64 cell VLS HHQ-9 SAM YJ-18 SSM CY-5 ASW Type 730 CIWS
Aircraft carried	Helicopter
Aviation facilities	Hangar Helipad

Hefei (174) is a Type 052D destroyer of the People's Liberation Army Navy. She was commissioned on 12 December 2015.

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, 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 052C helicopter hangar is located on the left side of the hull axis, which was changed to the center axis of the ship on Type 052D; a pair of small boat storage compartments was added on both sides of the hangar, similar to the design on the Type 054A frigate.

The close-in weapon system is composed of a H/PJ-12 short-range defense weapon system located in front of the bridge and a 24 Hongqi-10 air defense missile system located on the top of the hangar, which is combined to form a ladder interception. The original 100 mm naval gun was replaced by a higher-located, stealthier model, the H/PJ45 naval gun. On May 13, 2019, the extended version of the 052DL was exposed. The hull of the 052DL is basically the same as the 052D, but the helicopter deck is lengthened to prepare for the Zhi-20 to board the ship.

The Type 52D is the first Chinese surface combatant to use canister-based universal VLS, as opposed to the concentric type VLS carried aboard earlier vessels. 64 cells are carried; 32 forward and 32 aft. The VLS is reportedly an implementation of the GJB 5860-2006 standard. The VLS may fire the extended-range variant of the HHQ-9 surface-to-air missile, YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles, and CY-5 anti-submarine missiles.

Construction and career

Hefei was the third ship of the class and launched on 1 July 2013 at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. Commissioned on 12 December 2015.

Hefei and few other PLA Navy ships conducted an exercise about 360 km south of Yonakunijima and was spotted by JS Akizuki on 25 May 2016.

8 February 2018, Hefei transits the South China Sea. She was surveilling the USS Carl Vinson's task force operating nearby.

On 25 May 2016, Honghu, Lanzhou and Hefei were seen conducting a replenishment exercise in the Sea of Japan.

On 26 August 2024, Hefei arrived at the Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a formal visit, accompanied by Wuzhi Shan and Qilian Shan. After completing the official engagement, the three vessels are scheduled to depart the island on 29 August 2024 and conduct a passing exercise with a Sri Lankan naval vessel off the coast of Colombo.