In the context of the US and its allies constantly deploying modern weapons to the Asia-Pacific region
China's Type 053H3 frigates no longer meet the combat requirements
This forces the Beijing government to come up with options to improve, upgrade, or build new types of ships to increase deterrence
To save money and time, upgrading the Type 053 frigates is one of Beijing's important options
According to the Global Times, the Type 053H3 frigate, which has undergone a mid-life modernization program
was first seen in early 2020 during an exercise
The Type 053H3, NATO codename Jiangwei-II, preceded by the Type 053H2G, and succeeded by the Type 054 frigates
A total of 10 frigates have been built, commissioned for the People's Liberation Army Surface Force in the 1990s and 2000s
According to reports, 2 of them were sold to the Bangladesh Navy
The Type 053 frigate is primarily intended for a coastal patrol role
It can be deployed in anti-air warfare and anti-submarine warfare missions
Type 053H3 is the next evolution of Type 053H2G.
The frigate is identical to its predecessor in size and arrangement
but fitted with advanced weapon systems and sensors
The frigate has a length of 114.5m, a beam of 12.4m and a draft of 3.6m
The full load displacement is 2,393t, and can complement a crew of 170
The most obvious visual distinction between Jiangwei I & II are
The Jiangwei II's have HQ-7 instead of HQ-61B SAMs
8 C-802 anti-ship missiles instead of 6, and aft AAA mounts elevated compared to the Jiangwei I
The Type 053H3 class was briefly equipped with HQ-61B SAM system before being replaced by HQ-7 during upgrade
and some sources claim that the upgraded version is also called Type 057
The command and control system is an indigenous ZJK-2 combat data system derived from the French TAVITAC
The main functions of the system include threat evaluation, weapon allocation, engagement co-ordination and weapon control
The anti-submarine warfare capabilities are provided by two Type 87 six-round anti-submarine rocket launchers and six 12.75 inch torpedo tubes
The sensor suite consists of a Type 360 2D air / surface search radar operating on E/F-band, a Type 363 early warning radar and a RM-1290 navigation radar
The Type 360 radar has a maximum tracking range of 150km to aircraft and 50km to sea-skimming missiles
The frigate has a stern helicopter deck to accommodate a medium size helicopter such as the Eurocopter AS 365 Dauphin or Harbin Z-9C
The electronic countermeasures equipment include the RWD-8 interceptor
NJ81-3 jammer, SR-210 radar warning receiver, TM-053 laser warning receiver and HZ-100 electronic signals intelligence system
Two PJ-46 six-round decoy rocket launchers are installed to deceive incoming anti-ship missiles
The Propulsion is a combined diesel and diesel arangement
Four 18E390VA diesel engines driving two controllable pitch propellers via two shafts provide a maximum speed of 27kt and range of 4,000nm at 18kt
After a mid-life upgrade, the Type 053H3 had replaced its old HHQ-7 short-range surface-to-air missile
with the more advanced HHQ-10 anti-aircraft missile system
It is also equipped with a new type of close-in weapon system
believed to be developed from the Russian AK-630 naval close-in weapon system based on a six-barreled 30 mm rotary cannon
After the midlife modernization program, the Type 053H3 has become significantly more powerful