Type 053H3 frigate
The Type 053H3 is a class of Chinese frigates that entered service with the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force in the 1990s and 2000s. The class comprised ten vessels, all of which remain in active service except for two which have been sold to the Bangladesh Navy. They were a follow-on of the Type 053H2G frigate class. The used by the Pakistan Navy was based on the Type 053H3.
History
In the 1980s, the PLAN ordered Shanghai-based Hudong Shipyard to build a replacement for the Type 053K air defence frigate. The new class was based on the Type 053H2 frigate and designated Type 053H2G. Development was carried out under Project 055.The Type 053H2G was slightly larger than the Type 053H2, and equipped with HQ-61B surface-to-air missiles. The HQ-61 proved unsatisfactory and the class was quickly superseded by the Type 053H3, which was an improved Type 053H2G equipped with HQ-7 SAMs. The HQ-7 was a Chinese-produced version of the French R330 Sea Crotale. Ten Type 053H3s were produced between 1996 and 2005.
The most obvious visual distinction between Type 053H2 & H3 are: The Type 053H3's have HQ-7 instead of HQ-61B SAMs, 8 C-802 anti-ship missiles instead of 6, and aft AAA mounts elevated compared to the 053H2. The Type 053H3 class was briefly equipped with HQ-61B SAM system before being replaced by HQ-7 during upgrade. Some sources claim that the upgraded version is also called Type 057.