Type 055 Jiangwei frigates
Type 057 Jiangwei-II frigates
Type 059 Jiangwei-III frigates
The F22T Jiangwei class was the first Chinese patrol combatant to have anti-submarine capability. It is 115 meters long, a displacement of 2250 tons, and a speed of 25 knots. The Jiangwei class represents a shift in Chinese naval thinking away from ships that operate close to shore and toward ocean-going warships. Its major weapons system is the CY-1 anti-submarine missile. There is a helicopter deck for one helicopter, and six C-802 anti-ship missiles are deployed, though the units lack any real ASW capability.
Historically the biggest weakness of Chinese destroyers and frigates has been their inadequate ship-to-air missiles. Because they have small displacements, most of the destroyers and frigates are not equipped with short-range and intermediate-range missiles, but use artillery with a limited firing range, one-man air defense missiles, and a small number of PL-8H short-range ship-to-air missiles for air defense. The weakness in air defense capabilities has confined the activity of China's destroyers and frigates to the Chinese coastal waters, within the area covered by the fighters of the Chinese Navy. Jiangwei class frigates are equipped with ship-to-air missiles, including the HQ-61B with a firing range of 10 km and Sea Sidewinders with a firing range of 14 km. However, the PLAN's HQ-61 and HQ-7 systems [based on the French Crotale land-based surface-to-air missile system] do not provide surface units with an effective area-defense capability. This deficiency makes PLAN surface units extremely vulnerable to air attack.
The PLA Navy's three most advanced missile-equipped warships -- the Jiangwei-class frigates, the later versions of the Luda-class destroyers, and the Luhu-class destroyers -- are probably the first Chinese warships to have combat direction systems that provide tactical integration of shipboard sensors and weapons.
Four Jiangwei units completed in the early 1990s [although a fifth unit is suggested by some sources, authoritative sources agree that only four units were built].
Jiangwei-II Type 057 / Type 053H3
Three years after the launch of the last Jiangwei [542 Tongling], Hudong Shipyard started construction of the improved Jiangwei II in 1996. The new Type 057 Jiangwei-II are generally similar to the original Jiangwei in size and arrangement. They have upgraded radar and fire control systems, a pair of quadruple YJ-8II SSM systems (compared to the original pair of triple launchers), and an octuple HQ-7 SAM system. Despite these major improvements over existing ships, they lack vertical-launch system air defense missiles, which places them in a vulnerable position.
At least five Type 057 frigates were constructed at Hudong Shipyard. According to some reports, the first two may have entered service by the end of 1999, with at least three more Jiangwei-II units under construction at that time. Other sources suggest that as of late 1999 the first vessel (521) was undergoing sea trials, while the second (522) had yet to be launched. By May 2000 it appeared that the fourth Shanghai-built Jiangwei-II class had been delivered to the East Sea Fleet. The construction of the Jiangwei-II-class frigates expanded to a second yard, Huangpu Shipyard at Guangzhou [Canton] in southern China, with at least two of the class said to be building by early 2001. By May 2003 the PRC had commissioned three, launched a fourth, and had as many as six more under construction with others possibly planned.
As of May 2004 two additional units (527 & 528) were being built in Shanghai and Guangzhou, with 528 launched on 30 May 2004. These are believed to be a stop-gap until the new Type 054A FFGs enter construction.
At least one if not as many as four of these ships were laid down for Pakistan's Navy to replace four US warships. Purchase of four of the ships was deferred in 1995 due to economic and diplomatic problems. The first unit was reportedly built for Pakistani Navy (numbered 597), but when budgetary constraints terminated the deal the ship was later renumbered as 521.
In May 2003 it was reported that Pakistan's navy had revived negotiations to acquire at least four F-22 (Jiangwei-II Class/Type 053H3) frigates. The hull and the main machinery of the Pakistani ships are to be the same as that of China's, but the command-and-control systems, the weapons and the sensors will be specially modified to Pakistan’s needs. Pakistan planned to sign the contract before the end of 2003, with delivery of the first ship from China by 2005. A subsequent three F-22s are to be built at Pakistan's Naval Dockyard in Karachi, with the last of these delivered by 2009.
Jiangwei-III Type 059
The Jiangwei-III Type 059 class frigates, was expected to begin construction before 2005. This anticipated to remedy the anti-air deficiencies of the Type 055 class through the addition of a vertical launch system battery of surface-to-air missiles.
Construction of this third variant has apparently been abandoned in favor of the Type 054 Maanshan.
