Guangzhou Class Destroyer -Type 052B

The Type 052B or Guangzhou class destroyer (NATO reporting name: Luyang I class) is a class of multirole missile destroyers built by the People's Republic of China. Two ships have been built, with Guangzhou (168) and Wuhan (169) both being commissioned into the PLAN in July 2004. This class features a stealthy hull and significantly improved air defence systems, an area that had been a major weakness on previous ships designed by China. These ships represent a major improvement over older generation vessels and reflects the PLAN's need for more modern destroyer designs.

The Type 052B (Guangzhou class) multirole missile destroyer was the first Chinese-built warship capable of area air defence. The Type 052B is built with considerable Russian technology including the Russian-made 9M38 Buk-M1-2 (NATO codename: SA-N-12 Grizzly) air defence missile system, an extremely effective air defence system with a range of 38 km. 

Most military analysts expect the Guangzhou class to be similar to the Russian Sovremenny class destroyer in terms of general performance.[2] The chief designer of this class is the academician Mr. Pan Jingfu (潘镜芙), who is also the designer of the previous two classes.

The modern capabilities of this vessel demonstrate the Chinese desire to build up their blue-water navy and ability to project force into deeper waters. This shows a strong internationally-influencing naval force is being developed and will be a force to contend with in the future.