China Launched its 8th Type 052D Destroyer while the 4th Started Sea Trials with PLAN.

The first vessel of of the class, Kunming (hull number 172), was commissioned in March last year. Changsha (hull number 173) , the second Type 052D Destroyer to join the PLAN, was launched just four months after head of the class Kunming but was commissioned much later, in August this year.

This could indicate that follow on ships of the class, starting with Changsha, have and will receive some modifications compared to head of class Kunming.

The third vessel of the class, Hefei (hull number 174) is expected to be commissioned in December 2015 or early 2016. It was announced in October in an official bulletin that the Destroyer's crew was in training. Hefei is set to be the first Type 052D to be belong to the PLAN East Sea Fleet. The first two vessels of the class belong to the PLAN South Sea Fleet and based at the Yulin Naval Base located in the Yalong Bay (city of Sanya) on Hainan island. Hefei was spotted at the same naval base in Fall 2015 likely conducting training there before commissioning.

At least 10 Type 052D Destroyers are expected to be built for the PLAN, most of them (80%) by Changxing Jiangnan naval shipyard near Shanghai. Recent pictures (see below) show more vessels of the class at various stages of completion.

The Type 052D Kunming class (Nato designation: Luyang III) is the latest generation of guided-missile destroyer (DDG) of the Chinese Navy. It is based on its predecessor, the Type 052C DDG and likely shares the same hull. However the Type 052D incorporates many improvements in terms of design as well as sensors and weapons fit. This new class of vessel is considered as the Chinese equivalent to the American AEGIS destroyers.

Link to Type 052D Kunming Class Destroyer technical datasheet