- Yes
- No
TL;DR:
Coastal vessel, Chinese frigate, refitted with a ship-ton of MLRS launchers. Imagine SKR-7 with long range rockets.
Overview:
The first of a new (but outdated) generation of PLAN frigates, the Jiujiang, originally named Changsha, was the first Type 053H frigate built, in 1975 at the Shanghai Hudong shipyard. It was completed in September of that year, and commissioned in December into the East China Sea Fleet. During its early service, it helped salvage the sunken hospital ship Awa Maru, rumoured to have been carrying billions of dollars worth of gold. In 1981 the ship was renamed Jiujiang. In 1985, it was heavily refitted to a similar standard as the Type 053H1 frigates, with its obsolete single-mount 100mm guns replaced with automatic twin-mounts and a fire control radar added.
In the early 2000s, the PLAN looked into development of a fire support vessel for landing operations and coastal bombardment, and Jiujiang, one of the oldest ships in the fleet, was chosen to be modified. In 2002, it had most of its rear superstructure and its anti ship missiles removed. Five 122mm MLRS launchers were added in their place, each carrying 50 rockets with the ability to reload. The H/JJ12 MLRS has an effective range of 20 km, up to 40km with long-range rockets. Additionally its gun turrets were again replaced, with a more low profile mounting. The refit was only competed in 2004 because of the long development of a suitable launcher system. As tensions with Taiwan eased, plans for further fire support ships were shelved, and it became the only ship of its kind in the PLAN. In 2019 Jiujiang was decommissioned, and moored in its namesake city Jiujiang as a museum ship.
Specifications: (2004)
Armament:
2x2 100mm H/PJ33B (Type 79A) (52 ready rounds, 25 rpm)
2x2 37mm Type 61
5x50 122mm H/JJ12 MLRS (60° elevation, 16°/s rotation/elevation speed, stabilized, reloads for 2? launchers)
2x5 252mm Type 81 ASWRLArmour:
Rocket storage protected with “Kevlar armour” (definitely spall lining)Displacement:
1425 tons standard
1662 tons fullLength: 103.2m
Beam: 10.8m
Draft: 3.2m
Propulsion: 2 12E390VA diesel engines, 14 400 hp, driving 2 shafts
Speed: 26 knots (48.2 km/h)
Range: nmi (at knots)
Crew: 190
Systems:
Buqiu-50 fire director with H/LJP-343 FCR
Electro-optical fire director
H/LJQ-354 search radar
Type 752 navigation radar
SJD-3 sonar
Images:
Sources:
https://web.archive.org/web/20190910163419/http://haijun360.com/news/053H/2010/1014/101014214226CACCHA4853J2DDG22JJ0.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20170409183443/http://www.haijun360.com/news/XGBD/2016/68/1668145222C3A1IAG056HA3277I922.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20190911091359/http://haijun360.com/news/FQSD/2010/1015/101015202234572DIAHG9CH43BEEE5JG.html
https://baike.baidu.com/item/九江号护卫舰/12668061?
https://shidian.baike.com/wikiid/26838129562838382?anchor=22
https://kknews.cc/military/lm8b6pz.html
China Defense Blog: PLAN decommission of the day: FFG516 "Jiujiang" China's only MLR fire-support frigate
Images:
Strange PLA Navy Ship-borne Multi Rocket Launcher | cuteftpster | Flickr
从护卫舰变成终极火箭炮搭载舰，人民海军“九江”号护卫舰的故事