Chinese destroyer Lanzhou (170)

Lanzhou
History
China
Name	Lanzhou
Namesake	Lanzhou
Laid down	2002
Launched	29 April 2003
Commissioned	July 2004
Identification	Hull number: 170
Status	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Type 052C destroyer
Displacement	7,000 tons
Length	154 m (505 ft 3 in)
Beam	17 m (55 ft 9 in)
Draught	6 m (19 ft 8 in)
Propulsion	CODOG, 57,000  shp (43,000 kW)
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Armament	48 HHQ-9 long-range surface-to-air missiles 8 YJ-62 anti-ship / land attack cruise missiles 1 × 100 mm dual purpose gun 2 × 30 mm Type 730 close-in weapons systems 6 torpedo tubes 4 × 18-tube decoy rocket launcher
Aircraft carried	1 helicopter: Kamov Ka-27 or Harbin Z-9C ASW/SAR

Lanzhou is the lead ship of the Chinese Type 052C destroyers (NATO code name Luyang II class). The ship was laid down in late 2002, launched on 29 April 2003, and commissioned in July 2004. The destroyer is active with the People's Republic of China's South Sea Fleet.

History

Construction on the ship began in June 2001 and it was launched in April 2003. She was commissioned in June 2004. At the beginning of 2007, Lanzhou and Haikou conducted combat drills in the South China Sea,. ^[1]

On 23 April 2009, Lanzhou, as one of the newest ships in the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy), participated in a maritime military parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese PLA Navy that was held in the Yellow Sea near Qingdao, Shandong Province. ^[2] In late May 2009, Lanzhou, the Type 071 amphibious transport dock Kunlun Shan, Type 903 replenishment ship Qinghai Hu and Chao Hu, and other ships conducted a 17-day long-distance mobile combat drill in the South China Sea. The drill set three PLA Navy records of the longest three-way replenishment time, the largest single ship replenishment, and the largest dry basket replenishment. ^[3]

On 30 June 2010, Lanzhou and Kunlun Shan departed Zhanjiang, Guangdong to relieve the fifth Escort Task Group which was conducting the anti-piracy operations in Gulf of Aden and Somalia; the two ships along with the replenishment ship Weishan Hu formed the sixth task group. ^[4] Lanzhou and Kunlun Shan and sailed about 4,600 nautical miles (8,500 km; 5,300 mi) and arrived at the Gulf of Aden on 14 July 2010. ^[5] The anti-piracy rotation lasted 192 days and ended in January 2011. During the mission, Lanzhou sailed more than 40,000 nautical miles (74,000 km; 46,000 mi) and logged 4,280 hours of navigation time. She escorted 31 batches of 365 ships of various types and visited Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. ^[6]

In May 2014, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation drilling platform Offshore Oil 981 was drilling in the disputed Paracel Islands. Due to the disturbance of Vietnamese vessels, Lanzhou was dispatched along with China Coast Guard cutters to confront the Vietnamese vessels and guard the drilling platform. ^[7] On 25 May 2016, Honghu, Lanzhou and Hefei were seen conducting a replenishment exercise in the Sea of Japan. ^[8]

On 30 September 2018, the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Decatur passed near the disputed Spratly Islands and was intercepted by Lanzhou. US Pacific Fleet spokesman Charles Brown said in a statement that the Lanzhou closed within 45 yards (41 m) of the front of the ship and forced it to maneuver in order to prevent a collision. ^[9] Brown called Lanzhou's approach "unsafe and unprofessional." ^[9]

References

1. "博士硕士舰长演绎"龙虎斗"". 中国军网. 2007-01-29. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
2. "中国成功举行历史上最大规模海上阅兵". 新华网. 2009-04-23. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009.
3. "南海舰队实施远洋综合保障演练创3项海军新纪录". 中国新闻网. 2009-06-09.
4. "中国海军第六批护航编队起航赴亚丁湾". 中新网. 2010-06-30.
5. "中国海军第五批第六批护航编队14日会师亚丁湾". 中国新闻网. 2010-07-14.
6. ""兰州舰"亚丁湾护航报告会举行". 兰州晚报数字网. 2011-08-13. Archived from the original on 2014-06-07.
7. "中国海警船南海执法 飞豹神盾舰压阵". 光明网. 2014-06-05. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
8. "防衛省・自衛隊：防衛省ウェブサイトのＨＴＴＰＳへの切り替えのお知らせ" (PDF). www.mod.go.jp. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
9. Starr, Barbara; Browne, Ryan; Lendon, Brad (2 October 2018). "Chinese warship in 'unsafe' encounter with US destroyer, amid rising US-China tensions". CNN. Archived from the original on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 18 October 2021.

External links

• Sinodefence.com