Ref.: TRUM-04541
Plan DDG 138 Taizhou In 2002 China signed a contract with Russia to purchase an additional two Sovremenny class destroyers worth US$1.4 billion. These ships were improved Project 956EM variant with improved weapon systems. The first hull 138 Taizhou (Russian construction temporary pennant number 693) was launched in April 2004 and was delivered to China on 28 December 2005. The Sovremenny class is a typical Cold War-era Soviet design, with a large amount of weapon systems and sensors, as well as sophisticated electronic warfare and countermeasures (EW/ECM) equipments. The ship has a tall, large profile with all weapon systems and sensors exposed externally, increasing the ship’s radar cross section significantly. As a multirole destroyer mainly designed for the surface strike mission, the Sovremenny class is only equipped with basic self-defence antisubmarine weapons. The ship lacks the large and expensive towed sonar array and antisubmarine missile system that are commonly found on US and Japanese warships.