Introducing the Type 052DL ‘Stealth Hunter’: China’s New Destroyer Was Built to Kill F-35s and B-21s

The latest class of destroyer to join the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, the service’s first Type 052DL Class ship made its first public appearance in major drills in the East China Sea which are reported to have commenced on July 12th. The new warship is closely based on the Type 052D Class ship - a 7,500 ton destroyer which first entered service in 2014 of which over two dozen have now been built. The new variant is notably longer than the original Type 052D design allowing it to accommodate newer Z-20 helicopters, but its most notable enhancement is the integration of a powerful new meter wave radar which is reportedly optimised to track airborne stealth targets such as bombers, fighters, and specialised radar evading cruise missile classes. This capability is highly valued in light of both the centrality of stealth aircraft to U.S. strategies for war in the Western Pacific such as AirSea Battle, as well as the considerable numbers of stealth aircraft being purchased by neighbouring Japan which the PLA fleet in the East China Sea will be tasked without countering in the event of war.  

The ability to track stealth aircraft at longer ranges and with greater precision at sea could allow the Type 052DL to either target them itself, with the ships deploying four separate classes of surface to air missile with a 300km range, or to pass on targeting data either to other ships or to aircraft. The PLA Air Force’s new generation of fighter jets, currently comprised of the J-10C, J-16 and J-20 platforms, are notably optimised to counter stealth targets and are all equipped with powerful AESA radars, modern data links and their own stealth coatings. This combined with their use of AESA radars to guide their PL-15 long range air to air missiles makes them a potentially optimal partner to support Type 052DL Class ships against stealth targets. The U.S. Air Force is currently developing multiple classes of stealth aircraft, including the B-21 stealth bomber and two - or possibly three - classes of sixth generation fighter. 

The Type 052DL’s contrition to the PLA’s situational awareness at sea could be considerable, although it remains to be seen how many ships of the class the PLA intends to commission. Chinese shipbuilding notably surpasses that of the rest of the world by a considerable margin, and in 2019 alone 10 destroyer were launched - the same number as the entire Indian or French fleets but comprised of much more capable vessels. The Type 052D and DL Classes deploy multi-role vertical launch systems making them considerably more versatile than European or Russian destroyer classes, and the ships can deploy a wide range of munitions from 64 cells for air defence, anti shipping, land attack and anti submarine warfare including the YJ-18 long ranged sea skimming cruise missile. The ships form a lighter complement to the Type 055 Class heavy destroyers, which are the most heavily armed in the world and the second in terms of stealth capabilities only to the American Zumwalt Class. The first ship of the Type 052DL Class has notably been named ‘Zibo,’ and future Type 052D Class ships are expected to be built to the same specifications. The Zibo entered service on January 12th, the same month as the PLA’s first Type 055 Class heavy destroyer the Nanchang, and further Type 052DL Class ships are likely to be commissioned later in the year.