June 22, 2026: Last month a Chinese aircraft carrier task force formed, led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning /CV-16. Escort vessels included DDG-104, a Type 055 Renhai-class destroyer, a DDG-124, a Type 052D Luyang III-class destroyer, and FFG-545 Luohe, a Type 054B Jiangkai III-class frigate. This was the first time a Type 054B ship has been part of a carrier escort group. In support of the carrier task force is the AOR-901 Hulunhu/Type 901 Fuchi-class fast combat support ship

The Type 054B is the Chinese Navy’s newest frigate class and the designated successor to the prolific Type 054A, which China has at least 30 of in service. The 054B is an upgrade of the 054A. The 054s were based on Western, not Russian, designs. The Type 054A was the first Chinese warship equipped with VLS/Vertical Launch System and has 32 VLS cells for HQ-16 anti-aircraft missiles. There are eight anti-ship cruise missiles, a 76mm gun and two 30mm multi barrel autocannon for anti-missile defense. There are six torpedo tubes and twelve launchers for anti-submarine rockets, carrying depth charges. There is also a hangar for a helicopter. All this is handled by a crew of 165. The Type 054A has a top speed of 48 kilometers an hour and endurance of about three weeks on internal fuel. Type 054As have been seen refueling and taking in other supplies at sea.

Two Type 054s were built and put into service by 2005 mainly to test the design at sea under realistic conditions. This led to a lot of changes, including a weight increase of about five percent, and series production of this improved model, the 054As, began in 2007. By 2012 ten of these had been built and by 2016 there were 25. Apparently only about 30-40 Type 054As were be built because similar ships under construction may include one or more of the Type 54B, a 5,000 ton warship that is similar in shape to the 054As but has a new 20 MW all-electric power plant that enables the ship to go a little faster and spend more time at sea without refueling. The 054Bs are apparently designed with long range escort in mind and as part of aircraft carrier or amphibious task forces. The VLS cells in the 054B will be larger, and perhaps more numerous, and able to handle longer range anti-aircraft missiles. The 054Bs will come with upgraded electronics and an ASW helicopter.

Compared to Western shipbuilders, the Chinese have demonstrated an ability to rapidly develop improved versions of ship designs it is comfortable with. This has been the case with frigates and destroyers as well as diesel-electric submarines and support ships. Since the 1980s China has become a major manufacturer of merchant ships and has transferred a lot of that design and manufacturing capabilities to its naval buildup. It is somewhat similar to what the United States went through during World War II, including the design and production improvements that began in the late 1930s. That was a major war and the U.S. was a major shipbuilder. This time around there is no war, but China does have the resources to build a large modern fleet in a short period of time and that is what they are doing. Whether they can adequately man it is a different question.