China replaces all Russian systems on Taizhou destroyer to gain wider and faster missile coverage.

China has transformed its Taizhou destroyer into a far more lethal multi-role warship by replacing nearly all Russian combat systems with more advanced domestic technology. This upgrade significantly expands the Project 956 EM ship's missile reach and engagement speed, giving the Chinese vessel a real area air defense capability and a much stronger strike power in contested waters.

The installation of a 48-cell vertical launch system and new YJ-12 supersonic missiles enables long-range coordinated attacks and rapid response against saturation threats. Combined with modern sensors, networked targeting, and layered defenses, the destroyer now fits China's push toward integrated high-intensity naval warfare and extended force projection.

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This deep modernization turned the Taizhou, a short-range strike ship with limited self-defense, into a multi-role destroyer that can defend a wider area, strike targets much farther away, and track and engage multiple threats at the same time within a networked fleet. (Picture source: Weibo/@泰州发布)

On April 24, 2026, China publicly unveiled the modernized Project 956EM destroyer Taizhou (hull 138) in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, during PLA Navy 77th anniversary activities, providing the first detailed view of a complete mid-life modernization conducted within China. The Taizhou entered PLA Navy service in 2006 as part of the second pair of Sovremenny-class units acquired from Russia between 1999 and 2006. The upgrade shows a near-total replacement of Russian-made combat systems with Chinese ones while retaining the original propulsion plant and the AK-130 twin 130 mm gun.

The installation of a 48-cell H/AKJ-16 vertical launch system, split into 32 forward and 16 aft cells, represents the central structural change, replacing all previous medium-range air defense launchers. This point-defense destroyer could now act as a multi-role combatant for area air defense, aligning the ship with PLA Navy standard missile architecture, including the HQ-16, HQ-10, and Yu-8. The Project 956EM (an export variant of the Sovremenny-class built specifically for China) displaces between 7,900 and 8,480 tons at full load, with a propulsion based on four KVG-4 high-pressure boilers and two GTZA-674 steam turbines producing close to 100,000 shaft horsepower, enabling a maximum speed of 32 knots.

The original Russian armament included eight 3M80 Moskit anti-ship missiles carried in two quadruple launchers, two Shtil single-arm launchers for SA-N-12 surface-to-air missiles, two Kashtan CIWS mounts combining 30 mm guns and short-range missiles, and two twin 533 mm torpedo tubes. This configuration prioritized anti-ship strike at relatively short to medium ranges, but provided only limited layered air defense, with engagement cycles constrained by mechanical launcher reload times and fire control limitations. The Chinese modernization of the Taizhou replaces the Moskit (3M80) missile launchers with eight YJ-12 supersonic anti-ship missiles mounted in the same launcher configuration, maintaining salvo size while altering performance parameters.

The Moskit system, with a range between 120 and 240 km and a missile mass close to 4 tons, has been replaced by a more effective system, assessed to reach 400 to 500 km with speeds between Mach 3 and Mach 4. The reduced missile size lowers deck footprint, reduces maintenance burden, improves survivability (smaller radar/IR signature), and allows better compartment protection. However, the YJ-12's extended range exceeds the ship’s organic sensor horizon, which typically reaches 30 to 50 km for surface search radar, meaning the ship may now require external targeting help via airborne early warning assets, satellites, or networked data links.

This indicates a doctrinal shift from close-range saturation attack to distributed targeting and coordinated strike operations. The Taizhou's air defense capability has also shifted from a mechanically constrained system to a vertical launch architecture with significantly higher engagement rates and flexibility. The previous single-arm Shtil system required 10 to 15 seconds between launches due to mechanical rotation and loading constraints, limiting sustained firing rates to roughly 4 to 6 missiles per minute. Now, the H/AKJ-16 vertical launch system allows near-simultaneous launches with intervals close to one second per cell, enabling the theoretical launch of more than 30 missiles per minute in response to saturation attacks.

With 48 cells in total (forward: 32; aft: 16), the Chinese VLS is also more flexible, with two types of munitions available. As the primary load, the HQ-16, a medium-range surface-to-air missile, provides engagement ranges between 40 and 70 km, depending on the variant, creating an area defense capability that did not exist in the original Sovremenny-class. The system can also deploy Yu-8 rocket-assisted torpedoes for anti-submarine operations, further aligning the Taizhou with the Type 054A frigate. The close-in defense layer has been redesigned by removing the Kashtan CIWS combined systems. These two mounts, combining 30 mm guns and missiles, had reaction times exceeding six seconds and relied on a single integrated mount.

Therefore, replacing them with two H/PJ-11 11-barrel 30 mm Gatling guns and one HQ-10A missile launcher with 24 ready short-range rounds significantly improves the performance. The H/PJ-11 delivers firing rates between 10,000 and 11,000 rounds per minute, while the HQ-10A provides a surface-to-air interception capability of 10 km using combined infrared and radar guidance. Separating gun and missile systems also reduces vulnerability to single-point failure, although the relocation of the HQ-10 launcher to the aft section leaves a reduced forward-sector engagement envelope that may require maneuvering or reliance on escort ships for coverage.

Anti-submarine warfare capabilities have also been expanded through the replacement of the Russian 533 mm torpedo tubes with Chinese 324 mm triple launchers, compatible with modern lightweight torpedoes. The Yu-8 rocket-assisted torpedoes can be fired from the vertical launch system with an estimated range of 50 km. The addition of Type 726-4 multi-role rocket launchers, each with 24 tubes, introduces new capabilities for launching anti-submarine rockets, acoustic decoys, and anti-torpedo countermeasures. Combined with the embarked Ka-28 helicopter, the ship now forms a three-layered anti-submarine structure with Yu-8 for long-range strikes, Ka-28 for mid-range helicopter engagement, and shipboard torpedoes/rockets for short-range operations.

Electronic warfare and defensive systems have been expanded with the installation of four H/RJZ-726-4A decoy launchers, each with 24 tubes. The H/RJZ-726-4A launchers, now totaling 96 tubes, are capable of deploying radar chaff, infrared decoys, and acoustic countermeasures. This expanded set supports both missile defense and torpedo defense functions, extending survivability beyond the limited electronic countermeasures available in the original Russian configuration. The integration of acoustic countermeasures also supports anti-submarine operations by complicating incoming torpedo guidance, improving the overall survivability of the Taizhou destroyer.

Concerning the ship’s sensor suite, all major Russian sensors, such as the MR-750, have been replaced with more modern Chinese systems, including a 3D air search radar comparable to the Type 382 and an over-the-horizon (OTH) radar similar to the Type 366. Coupled with the replacement of older MR-90 mechanically scanned systems by Chinese phased-array fire control radars, these upgrades increase target tracking capacity and enable simultaneous engagement of multiple targets. Furthermore, the new compatibility with HQ-16 guidance requirements allows full use of the vertical launch system.

Integration into PLA Navy data link networks also allows the ship to receive targeting data from aircraft and other vessels, as well as share its own sensor data, enabling coordinated engagements beyond line-of-sight. Structural modifications include the removal of single-arm launchers, the reinforcement of deck sections to integrate the new forward and aft VLS blocks, and the reconfiguration of the superstructure with larger bridge windows and revised equipment layouts. Boat storage and handling systems have been reorganized following the removal of older torpedo equipment, while the complex Russian crane systems have been replaced with simplified deck handling systems.

The propulsion system remains unchanged, as the Taizhou retains the steam turbines (for now?), which require higher maintenance burdens compared to gas turbine systems but continue to provide sufficient speeds nearing 32 knots. Within the Chinese Navy, four Russian Sovremenny-class destroyers remain in service. The two earlier Project 956E units, Hangzhou (136) and Fuzhou (137), were upgraded with a 32 vertical launch cell system, while the two Project 956EM units, Taizhou (138) and Ningbo (139), have been fitted with 48 cells due to internal layout differences and available deck space after structural changes.

All four ships are now assigned to the East Sea Fleet and operate within active units, while comparable vessels in Russian service have been retired or rendered inactive by the mid-2020s due to propulsion reliability issues and maintenance constraints. The Chinese approach is therefore more effective in the long-term, as a mid-life modernization indicates a decision to extend the service life of hulls with available upgrade margin by replacing aging combat systems to integrate them into domestic command, control, and logistics frameworks.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.