Type 054A frigate The Type 054A ( NATO codename Jiangkai II ) frigate is a Chinese multi - role warship class , the first of which entered service with the People ' s Liberation Army Navy in 2007 . The class is planned to comprise 20 vessels . , 16 were in service , one was fitting out , and three were under construction . It is a development of the Type 054 frigate , using the same hull but with improved sensors and weapons . The Type 054A was first revealed while under construction at the Guangzhou - based Huangpu Shipyard in 2005 . Improvements . The Type 054A carries HQ - 16 medium - range air defence missiles and various anti submarine rockets in a VLS system . The HQ - 16 provides area air defence from all engagement angles up to a range of 50 km , a considerable improvement over the HQ - 7 carried on the Type 054 which have inferior range and limited engagement angles . Contrary to HQ - 9 VLS on Type 052C destroyer which adopts a cold launch method , HQ - 16 appears to adopt a hot launch method instead , with the same design principle of US Mk 41 VLS : a shared common exhaust system is sited between the two rows of rectangular launching tubes . The VLS system is also capable of firing anti - submarine missile . The 4 AK - 630 close - in weapon system s ( CIWS ) of the Type 054 were replaced with 2 Type 730 CIWS on the Type 054A . The autonomous Type 730 provides improved reaction time against close - in threats . The 100 mm main gun on earlier Type 054 class is replaced by H / PJ26 stealthy 76 mm dual purpose gun mount , which is a Chinese development of Russian AK - 176 . The adoption of smaller caliber gun is the result of the need of higher rate of fire for air defense , including sea - skimming anti - ship missiles . H / PJ26 utilizes advanced synthetic material such as fiber glass to a much greater degree than the original AK - 176 , resulting in over 30 % of weight reduction to 11 . 5 ton of H / PJ26 , as opposed to the 16 . 8 + tons of AK - 176 . Another improvement of Type 054A over the original Type 054 ( as well other older ships in the People ' s Liberation Army Navy ) is its information systems ( IS ) for maintenance and inventory control , which automatically provides information to shore based facilities or supply ships on the parts in need , to the last detail , so that parts in need can be provided more quickly . The resulting down time due to maintenance & repair is reduced to a fraction of what it is for older vessels without this IS system . The Chinese have termed this IS for maintenance and inventory control another force multiplier because it increased availability for deployment by reducing downtime . The Type 054A retains its predecessor ' s stealth features , including sloped hull design , radar absorbent materials , and a clean profile . An improved variant , sometimes called the Type 054A + , launched from Huangpu Shipyard in 2009 . Operations . Type 054A frigate made first operational deployment to Gulf of Aden , when FFG - 570 Huangshan set sail as part of 2nd Escort Flotilla / Task Group 167 on 2nd April 2009 , the Escort Flotilla arrive there on 13th April 2009 , and take over form 1st Escort Flotilla / Task Group 169 on 15th April 2009 . Since then 11 type 054A have deployed to Gulf of Aden for anti - piracy operations . In the lead - up to the Libyan civil war , the FFG - 530 Xuzhou was deployed from anti - piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden to help evacuate Chinese nationals from Libya . In January 2014 , the FFG - 546 Yancheng was redeployed from anti - piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to escort Syrian chemical weapon s destined for destruction . Export . In Feb 2013 , China offered to sell Thailand 3 customized 054A frigates ( " 054T " ) for 30 billion Thai Bhat ( $ 1 billion USD ) total . However , in April 2013 it was reported that South Korea had won the Royal Thai navy ' s frigate bid with 2 modified Gwanggaeto the Great - class destroyer s at 13 billion Thai Baht each .