More muscle to China's aircraft carrier groups as it plans to add two multi-role frigates

China will soon launch two multi-role frigates, media reports claimed referring to new imagery, which suggests that the production of the next-generation frigate for the Chinese Navy (PLAN) is now underway in Guangzhou. A Weibo user shared several photos. 

A report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) mentioned that news regarding the Chinese navy showing the hull of a Type 054B frigate was circulating on social media. A frigate is a type of warship, but it keeps changing with variations in its roles and capabilities in different eras. 

A Type 054B frigate is a bigger and faster version of the Type 054A now in service. The report mentioned that the frigate was prepared to be rolled out from the dry dock of a shipyard. China plans to launch two Type 054B frigates by the end of this year. 

The visibility of over half of the hull suggested that the ship would soon be launched. Referring to the photos, the report added that the banners hung on the sides of the dry dock stated that the photographs were shot at the Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard, a subsidiary of the Guangzhou-based China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). 

As quoted by the report, Lu Li-shih, who is a former instructor at Taiwan's Naval Academy in Kaohsiung, said: "The shape of the bulkhead board and the island control tower suggest that the vessel is a mini version of the Type 055 destroyer." Lu was referring to the Renhai-class stealth-guided missile destroyer with a displacement of more than 12,000 tonnes. 

Lu  added, "It's an entirely new frigate – not just faster and bigger than the Type 054A, but it has also adopted some new advanced technologies from the Type 055 cruiser."

The SCMP report mentioned that Type 055 is the world's second-most powerful destroyer after the US Navy's DDG-1000, or Zumwalt class. 

It is equipped with an integrated mast and powerful radar systems and has been dubbed the "bodyguard" of Chinese aircraft carriers. 

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