Since No. 120 Chengdu Type 052D destroy was commissioned on November 20, 2019, the Chinese Navy has got 12 Type 052D guided-missile destroyers, five years after the first 052D entered service.
At present, there are 26 Type 052D destroyers in total including 24 launched. Starting from the 14th one, Type 052D has changed significantly, and they are called 052DL instead, which is an extended version based on Type 052D.
Type 052D destroyer has a full-load displacement of more than 7,000 tons, which is only about 500 tons larger than 052C, while the number of vertical launch units is 16 more. Therefore, 052D must use the ship’s space as much as possible.
Type 052C only has 12 units of vertical launch system at the stern, but Type 052D has 32 units installed. This results in that Type 052D can only retain the helicopter deck as long as Type 052C, and the hangar space is very limited. It can only carry a Z-9 light anti-submarine helicopter, or Ka-27 helicopter.
Type 052D’s extended version is called 052DL. The captain is 3-4 meters longer than the original 052D to provide enough take-off and landing area for the Z-20 helicopter. The boarding of Z-20 means that a multi-purpose shipborne helicopter with a longer range, longer air time, and a larger bomb load has reached the same level as the mainstream models, making it an important part of the surface anti-submarine network of the surface ship. The last shortboard of the Type 052D destroyer has been completed.
In addition, Type 052DL destroyer also specifically enhanced anti-stealth capabilities. The most obvious change is the replacement of the long-range alert radar in the middle of the hull.
It is reported that the new radar, based on the successful experience of land-based anti-stealth radar, can achieve more accurate tracking of long-range targets with a detection range of up to 400 kilometers and can track hundreds of targets at the same time.
The tracking distance for stealth fighters like F-35 is about 120 kilometers, but to achieve continuous accurate positioning, China must rely on multi-faceted shipborne phased arrays for analysis and processing, and even have to include the phased array radar of the early warning aircraft in the sky.