Upgraded Chinese Destroyer Conducts Multi-Region Training Exercises

In 2025, the Weinan, a Type 052D guided missile destroyer belonging to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, participated in extensive training exercises across various sea regions. The exercises were designed to assess the coordination of formations and the decision-making abilities of commanding officers.

The exercises involved multiple warships, including the Weinan and the Yulin, organized by a training center and a destroyer detachment affiliated with the PLA Southern Theater Command. During the drills, the Weinan engaged a simulated hostile unmanned vessel, successfully detecting and destroying it using its main gun.

In another exercise, the Weinan utilized shipborne drones to determine target coordinates for coastal engagement. The data was then relayed to the formation, enabling concentrated fire on simulated hostile coastal positions.

Photographs accompanying the release revealed that the Weinan is a Type 052D guided missile destroyer. However, unlike previous Type 052D destroyers, the Weinan features a dual-face radar system, similar to that found on the PLA Navy's Type 054B guided missile frigate. This new radar suggests the Weinan is a modified version of the Type 052D.

According to a Chinese military affairs expert, this radar is likely a dual-face rotating active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, offering significant improvements over the original radar on previous Type 052Ds. This technology, first seen on the Type 054B frigate, is expected to enhance the destroyer's ability to detect and track aerial and maritime targets, including stealth targets, from greater distances.

The Type 052D has undergone previous upgrades, including an aft-mounted radar for extended early warning range, a larger helicopter deck, and an upgraded vertical launch system. The Type 052D's design is considered excellent, with a displacement suitable for both coastal and far seas operations, and strong capabilities for air defense, anti-ship, and anti-submarine warfare. These attributes make the Type 052D a cost-effective guided missile destroyer, a mainstay of the PLA Navy.