Beijing (TDI): After its commissioning into the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in January, China’s first Type 054B frigate made its maiden public appearance with a training exercise in the Yellow Sea on Thursday.
An expert described the rapid development of the warship’s capabilities as astounding and predicted it would become combat-ready soon.
A combat support ship detachment affiliated with the navy of the PLA Northern Theater Command recently organized challenging training drills, including maritime VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure), navigating under simulated difficult weather conditions, as well as search and rescue, in a move to hone the unit’s round-the-clock, all-domain combat capabilities.
During the drill in an undisclosed location in the Yellow Sea, the replenishment ship Dongpinghu was tasked with refueling multiple vessels.
The frigate Luohe sailed to the Dongpinghu’s port side while the destroyer Xining sailed to the Dongpinghu’s stern, as the three ships launched a series of procedures to conduct maritime replenishment.
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The 5,000-ton-class Luohe, which is the PLA Navy’s first Type 054B frigate, was officially commissioned at a naval port in Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province on January 22, with the hull number of 545, the PLA Navy announced at the time.
The maritime replenishment drill marked Luohe’s first public appearance since commissioning.
Wang Yunfei, a Chinese military affairs expert, said that the Luohe started maritime training drills in under two months after commissioning, and this represents an astounding speed of combat capability generation for China’s first Type 054B frigate, according to Global Times.
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Typically, destroyers and frigates need at least one year to reach initial operational capability, as they must undergo a series of basic training exercises, Wang said.
