Yanxi-class weapon trials ship

Summary

The Yanxi class weapon trials ship is a class of little known naval auxiliary ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).[1] The name of this class is after the first unit commissioned, with the exact type still remains unknown.[1] Contrary to the usual naming conventions of Chinese military where the ship is designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by three-digit number, the Yanxi class is designated by only a single Chinese character, which is Xun (训), short for Xun-Lian (训练), meaning training in Chinese, because these ships of this class is also used as training ships, but only a single unit of this class has been built.[1] However, the pennant numbers may have changed due to the change of Chinese naval ships naming convention.

Class overview
Operators People's Liberation Army Navy
General characteristics
Class and typeYanxi
Displacement1,200 t (1,200 long tons; 1,300 short tons)
Length60 m (196 ft 10 in)
Beam11 m (36 ft 1 in)
Draught3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 × marine diesel engines, 2,200 hp (1,641 kW)
  • 2 shafts
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Troops30 instructor + 200 cadet
Complement170
Sensors and
processing systems
Various
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Various
Armament1 twin 37 mm gun, 2 twin 14.5 mm gun
Aircraft carriedNone
Aviation facilitiesNone

The Yanxi class carried no systems other than anti-aircraft guns and radars, but it did support Soviet Styx surface-to-surface missile (SSM) launch and recovery during tests.[1] In addition to weapon trials ship, the Yanxi class is also used as a training ship, and it can carry thirty instructors with two hundred cadets when used in that role.[2] With more advanced and larger weapon trials ships and training ships entering Chinese service to replace its original weapon trials and training role, Yanxi class has been mainly carrying out drone launch and recovery trials to support the development of naval UAVs.[2]

Class Pennant # Commissioned Status
Yanxi Xun 701 1970 Active

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Yanxi class weapon trials ship". Afcea International. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Yanxi class". Retrieved 3 August 2015.