Type 052D destroyer The Type 052D destroyer is a class of guided missile destroyer s being deployed by the Chinese People ' s Liberation Army Navy . After the Type 052C destroyer ( NATO code name " Luyang II " class , or " Lanzhou " class after the lead ship ) , two new hulls were spotted under construction at Changxingdao - Jiangnan Shipyard ( JNCX ) in August 2012 . According to the picture , they were armed with a new 130mm main gun and new Active Electronically Scanned Array ( AESA ) radar system . Altogether seven vessels of this class are now fitting out or under construction , with a further four on order or planned and one vessel on sea trial . Design . The layout of the Type 052D is similar to the earlier Type 052C , but the superstructure of the Type 052D slopes inward at a greater angle , providing superior stealth . The helicopter hangar on the Type 052D is moved to the center , as opposed to being on the left like on the Type 052C . A pair of enclosed boat / raft launching systems similar to that of the Type 054A frigate is added , with one on each side of the helicopter hangar . The Type 517HA VHF radar mast is moved toward the stern of the ship . There are several mounting sites for a new single barrel 30 mm stealthy gun mount that is fully automated . The addition of this small caliber weapon is presumably for the need to counter non - conventional threats such as potential terrorist attacks and anti - piracy operations , but as of the end of 2012 , no 30mm gun mounts have been observed to be installed on the hull yet . Due to the greater angle of superstructure slope , more space was made available for the active phased array radar ( APAR ) , which first appeared in June 2012 onboard PLAN experimental ship " Bi Sheng " . It is believed that this new APAR is a development of earlier ones mounted on the Type 052C . One of the main differences is that the size of the new array is larger , so presumably there are more transceivers on each array . Another obvious difference is that the curvature resulted in the need for air circulation on earlier APAR on Type 052C is gone , so it is believed that the new APAR on Type 052D must have adopted a pure liquid cooling system instead of the mixed air and liquid cooling system on earlier APAR on board Type 052C . Vertical Launching System . The Type 052D has a brand new vertical launching system ( VLS ) for surface - to - air missile s , cruise missiles , anti - submarine missile s , and anti - ship missile s , and is capable of quad - packing missiles and cold launch ; it is the third type of Chinese VLS system identified , after the circular version of VLS on Type 052C destroyer and the rectangular version on Type 054A frigate . The VLS system on Type 052D differs from that on Type 052C . The circular - shaped VLS system on Type 052C is replaced by the VLS with rectangular cells on Type 052D . Moreover , this western - like VLS looks different from the VLS system of Type 054A . Photo shows that Type 052D ' s VLS system does not contain the shared exhaust vents between the rows of lunching tubes , which is the common feature of Type 054A ' s VLS . Instead , the VLS on Type 052D looks more similar to the American Mk 41 VLS , but without obvious indication of exhausts . The lack of exhaust vents in the leaked photos leads to some Chinese internet forums postulating the cold launch method is adopted on Type 052D , but such claims cannot be confirmed by independent or official sources . There are many other Chinese internet forums claiming that the difference between the VLS on Type 052D and VLS on Type 054A is simply a rearrangement of exhaust to a different location and Type 052D is still utilizing the hot launch method like Type 054A , but used a more advanced method of concentric canister launch ( CCL ) system ( 同心筒式垂直发射系统 ) , first pioneered by USA in the mid - 1990 for Mk 41 VLS upgrade . This second claim appears more probable than the cold launch claims , because official Chinese sources have confirmed the existence of CCL VLS developmental program headed by the School of Mechatronics Engineering of Beijing Institute of Technology , and various research papers have been publicized , such as the effect of the flow mechanism and annular size of CCL and others . It ' s reported that chief designers of Chinese CCL VLS included Professor Yuan Zenfeng ( 袁曾凤 ) , Professor Miao Peiyun ( 苗佩云 ) and professor Liang Shijie ( 梁世杰 ) . When using CCL method , the flame produced in hot launch is diverted through the space between the inner and outer canisters within each individual VLS cell , so no specially dedicated exhaust shared by several cells are needed , thus similar to how British vertical launched ( VL ) Sea Wolf missile operates , and this is why CCL VLS can be mistaken for cold launch due to the lack of dedicated exhaust sandwiched between two rolls of cells in traditional VLS , while in reality , the exhaust of CCL VLS is within each individual cell . What is also confirmed by semi - official sources in China is that the VLS on Type 052D is built to GJB 5860 - 2006 standard ( GJB = Guo - jia Jun - yong Biao - zhun , 国家军用标准 , " National Military Standard " ) , so that different types of missiles can be launched by a single launching system . According to some of the publicized examples of GJB 5860 - 2006 requirement , there are 3 types of VLS that differs in length : 9 meter , 7 meter and 3 . 3 meter respectively ( section 5 . 1 . 3 ) , but the diameter is same for all , 850 mm maximum ( section 6 . 1 . 2 ) , with each launching tube filled with either dry air or nitrogen inside ( section 6 . 1 . 4 ) , and with higher internal pressure . ( section 6 . 1 . 4 ) . Similar to U . S . Navy ' s MK 41 , a launching module includes 8 launching tubes ( section 5 . 2 . 4 ) , and each tube can house 1 ~ 4 missiles ( section 5 . 2 . 4 ) . Each launching model has a launching control unit ( section 5 . 3 . 7 ) , which can simultaneously launch up to 4 missiles of different kind ( section 5 . 3 . 6 ) . The launching control unit must have build - in test / diagnostic function ( section 5 . 3 . 8 ) . These publicized portions of GJB 5860 - 2006 are surprisingly similar to that of Mk 41 VLS , which prompt some Chinese internet sources to claim that there are potential future export of such system so that it has to comply to Mk 41 VLS , the most widely used VLS in the world . Naval Gun . Another improvement of the Type 052D is that the Type H / PJ87 100 mm gun on the Type 052C is replaced by a new single barrel 130 mm gun , designated as the Type H / PJ38 . Data Link . Various Chinese internet sources have claimed that Type 052D is equipped with a newest Chinese data link which has just completed national certification in Jun 2012 and publicized by the end of year . Designated as JSIDLS ( Joint Service Integrated Data Link System , 全军综合数据链系统 ) , this is the Chinese equivalent of Link 16 , a significant improvement of earlier HN - 900 which is the Chinese equivalent of Link 11 / TADIL - A installed on Type 052C . The general designer of JSIDLS is Major General Wang Jianxi ( 王建新 ) , who was the also head of the research institute of the People ' s Liberation Army General Staff Department assigned as primary contractor of JSIDLS . More than 300 establishments and 8000 people were involved in the development of JSIDLS , and it won State Science and Technology Prizes after completion . Chinese " Aegis " . Chinese military , diplomatic , and media circles informally designate the Type 052D as " Zhonghuashendun / 中华神盾 Aegis " . The new destroyer is equipped with a flat - array AESA radar , a 64 - cell VLS and modern long - range anti - air missiles . The destroyer is expected to have capabilities approaching those of a U . S . Navy " Arleigh Burke " - class destroyer .