TYPE 052D LUYANG III

The Type 052D Luyang III is the PLAN's current backbone destroyer, often called the "Chinese Aegis" for its four-array Type 346B AESA phased-array radar resembling the US SPY-1. With 28+ commissioned and building at a rate of 3–4 per year, the 052D represents one of the most rapid modern warship production programs in history. Its 64-cell universal VLS launches the HHQ-9B area-defense SAM (150+ km range), YJ-18 anti-ship missile (supersonic terminal phase, 540 km range), and land-attack cruise missiles. The extended 052DL variant adds a lengthened helicopter hangar. The 052D provides China's carrier strike groups and surface action groups with credible blue-water air defense and anti-surface warfare capability, and its production numbers now exceed all European destroyer classes combined.