photos from a PLAN test ship indicates that the new 155 mm naval gun system is approaching formal evaluation.
Sunday, August 17, 2025
A closer look: PLAN's 155mm naval gun
Recent imagery circulating on Chinese defense forums suggests the
People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is moving ahead with deployment of a
155 mm naval gun system. In concept and role similar that of US Navy’s
Advanced Gun System (AGS), optimized for delivering sustained, precision
fire in support of amphibious and coastal operations.
Looking at
the following photos below indicates the weapon is likely to be
integrated into an upcoming guided‑missile destroyer (DDG) class. Of
course, there's no surprise that PLAN intent to enhance long‑range naval
gunfire support (NGFS) capabilities, leveraging larger‑caliber
munitions for improved reach, payload flexibility, and shore bombardment
effectiveness to an island somewhere east of China.
The adoption of 155 mm naval artillery could:
- Expanded land‑attack portfolio alongside missile systems.
- Interoperability potential with advanced guided projectile tech.
- Doctrinal shift toward sustained fire support in joint operations.
Reassured, we will be seeing it onboard of a PLAN vessel soon
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
New PLAN Development Of The Day: 155mm Naval Guided Missile Gun
As of today, the heaviest naval combatant under the PLAN command is the Type055 DDG, sporting a H/PJ-38 130mm naval gun, the same H/PJ-38 also found on the type Type 052D. Reading the plaque, this new "155 mm Naval Guided Missile Gun" was freshly minted in March 2025 (this month) by the State Factory 447 weighting in 21800 Kg.
The next logical set of questions are:
1) Retrofiring the Type055 from 130mm to this new 155mm?
2) A new class of PLAN "heavy" is under consideration?
Both 1 and 2?
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
A cleaner picture of the the PLAN Test Ship 856 with a new AESA active phased array radar
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Photo Of The Day: PLAN Test Ship 856 with a new AESA active phased array radar
The Chinese Navy PLAN's second Type 909A "weapons integration" test ship was launched at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in March 2006.
Initially bearing a hull number (892, later changed to 856 in 2021) and bearing the name of Hua Luogeng (link) in honor of the renowned Chinese mathematician born in 1910). It was commissioned into the North Sea Fleet
In this PR photo released yesterday, Hua Luogeng 856 is showing off a new AESA active phased array radar is installed at the stern, continuing its role as a test ship. See previous blog entries blow
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Photo of the day: DH-10 LACM on test ship 892.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Photo of the day: Test Ship 892's new mounts.
The radar is similar to the "HK-CL Mobile Continuous Wave Precision Measurement Radar" on display a while back and the new mounts appear to be variants of the FL-3000N RAM.
Photo credit goes to HSH.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
The fourth PLAN test ship commissioned.
The first three test ships are:
891 Bi Sheng
892 Hua Luogeng
893 Zhan Tianyou
PLA Navy’s new comprehensive test vessel commissioned
( Source: China Military Online )
http://eng.mod.gov.cn/Photos/2014-10/11/content_4542634.htm
2014-October-11 17:38
The photos taken in early October show the commissioning and flag presentation ceremony of the comprehensive test ship "Li Siguang" of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in a military port in Zhanjiang, south China’s Guangdong Province.
ZHANJING, October 11 (ChinaMil) – Days ago, a naval port in Zhanjiang witnessed a commissioning and flag presentation ceremony held to mark a new comprehensive test ship "Li Siguang" to join the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
The "Li Siguang" (hull number 894) is designed and built independently by China. The construction of the ship started in 2012, and it was launched in November 2013.
The ship is 129.3 meters long and 17 meters wide. Its full load displacement reaches 6,080 tons. The commission of this new comprehensive test ship marks the overall improvement of the PLAN's scientific test level. Background: the first "Li Siguang" ship The old "Li Siguang" survey ship (hull number 871) is China's first medium and long-range comprehensive ocean survey vessel with independent design and manufacturing. The ship was put into service in August 1998.
The old "Li Siguang" survey ship was mainly responsible for ship engineering and marine surveying. Among all the ships of the PLAN, it was the first ship named after a Chinese scientist. With the commission of the ship, the history that China was not capable of conducting pelagic survey was put to an end.
The old "Li Siguang" survey ship retired on November 16, 2012 and now has been transformed into a fishery administration vessel with a new hull number-China Yuzheng 206.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Navalized DH-10 LACM
Deployment of Land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM) on Chinese warships will bring new dimensions to diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific.
Images have surfaced of a naval variant of the DH-10 LACM on a China Navy test vessel. The missile canisters spotted appear to be virtually identical to the land-based variant. This sort of arrangement is reminiscent to the deployment of the BGM-109 Tomahawk on United States Navy surface combatants by way of the MK-143 Armored Box Launcher. The MK-143 enabled vessels such as the Iowa Class Battleships and Spruance Class Destroyers to launch the BGM-109.
The images suggest that the DH-10 would be installed in the same way as the YJ-62 or YJ-83 anti-ship missiles. This is advantageous for the current generation of China Navy surface combatants, giving designs such as the 052C land attack capability with minimal structural modification. However, the downside is that the arrangement would sacrifice anti-ship capabilities by substituting the YJ-62 or YJ-83 systems with DH-10 launchers. It also means that only a maximum of eight missiles can be carried and that is assuming the launch canisters can be stacked on top of one another.
In spite of its disadvantages and simplicity compared to the deployment of vertically launched LACMs by other navies, the adoption of a naval variant of the DH-10 is a considerable capability leap for Beijing. This development would enable China to complete its “cruise missile triad”, complementing the already in-service land-based system and the air-launched variant, the CJ-10. Missiles launched from land-based platforms are restricted to striking targets around China’s periphery, not so dissimilar to the range limitations faced by the Second Artillery Force’s inventory of conventional ballistic missiles. Missiles launched from the air force’s H-6 bombers provide more operational flexibility and reach for China’s cruise missiles, similar to the way in which the United States Air Force deploys cruise missiles from its bomber fleet. However, without aerial refueling capability and heavy fighter protection, the H-6 is an aircraft restricted to limited regional operations. The bomber’s obsolete design, slow speed and its vulnerability to interception are weighing heavily against its potential strategic roles.
The China Navy, on the other hand, is the only branch of the Chinese military capable of projecting limited power far beyond China’s shores. While it is debatable whether the China Navy would seek the same sort of global reach as the United States Navy, the possession of ship-launched LACMs would essentially enable Chinese warships to conduct long range precision attacks against land targets around the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The implications are strategic locations that were traditionally distance away from China mainland could now be potentially brought within the firing range of DH-10 armed vessels.
The fact that DH-10 is mounted on a test vessel that has yet sail suggests that it is still very early its development cycle. If the rumored Type 052D destroyer, the successor of the 052C that is reportedly under construction is mounted with DH-10, then a universal vertical launch system for Chinese armed forces is a reality.
It would also be interesting to monitor the future development of an undersea DH-10 systems as arming Beijing’s fleet of conventional and nuclear attack submarines with submarine-launched DH-10 missiles will have far reaching implications.
--cloneattacks
