China Commissions Sixth Destroyer With Aegis Combat System Equivalent Capability

China has commissioned its sixth Type 052C destroyer, ‘Xian’ on Feb 9 in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) East Sea Fleet, People’s Navy Daily reported.

In addition to Type o52C, China also has Type 052D or Kunming class guided missile destroyer that uses Active phased array radar. Xian is the fourth Type 052C destroyer after Changchun, Zhengzhou and Jinan in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) East Sea Fleet.

The destroyer weighs 6,000-ton and carries 48 HHQ-9 air defense missiles and eight YJ-62 anti-ship missiles, according to the newspaper.

As per the report, China plans to build a total of 12 Type 052D guided-missile destroyers. Together with the six Type 052C, the PLA Navy will eventually have 18 Zhonghua Shendun or "Chinese Aegis" destroyers.