Ref.: TRUM-04542
DDG-139 Ningbo PLA Navy Destroyer 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 second hull 139 Ningbo was launched in July 2004 but the scheduled delivery date was postponed to September 2006 due to a fire accident that took place onboard the ship in April 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.