Chinese destroyer Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a guided-missile destroyer operated by China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It is the sole Type 051B destroyer (NATO reporting name: Luhai).

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the PLAN began developing capabilities for a wider range of strategic missions. During this time it produced multiple warship classes with short production runs, likely as experiments to develop satisfactory designs. The Type 051B destroyer was one of these designs.

The Type 051B destroyer had "broad similarities" with the smaller preceding Type 052 destroyer. The Type 051B has a wider hull with increased stability, habitability, and armament. Integration of French and Russian systems was aided by previous experience on the Luda III testbed. The ZKJ-7 combat data system is based on the Italian IPN-10 or -20. The light anti-aircraft guns were mounted aft to make space for the HQ-7 reloading system behind the launcher.

It was unusual in being one of the few PLAN ships to have a hangar for two helicopters.

The Type 051B was the first PLAN warship with a combined diesel or gas (CODOG) powerplant using Ukrainian gas turbines; the preceding Type 052 program had started with American General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, which could no longer be obtained after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

One ship, Shenzhen, was built. The design then become the baseline for the Type 051C destroyer.

The ship emerged from a major overhaul around 2016. The quarterdeck was enclosed. The "Top Plate"-derived radar was moved from the aft to the forward mast to remove its blind spot. The ship was rearmed with YJ-12 anti-ship missiles, and HHQ-16 surface-to-air missiles in a vertical launching system (VLS). Stern-deployed torpedo decoy and towed array sonar systems were installed.

Shenzhen was commissioned in December 1998 and served as a flagship for the South Sea Fleet. It made the PLAN's first goodwill visit to Africa in 2000. The ship also took part in the PLAN's first visit to Europe in 2001 and the first visit to Japan in 2007.

The ship was refitted in 2004.

Shenzhen was part of the second Chinese anti-piracy task force to the Gulf of Aden from April to August 2009. On the return journey it visited Pakistan and India.

The ship was overhauled from 2014 through 2016 at Zhanjiang.

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  Shenzhen entering Apra Harbor, Guam on 12 October 2003.
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  Shenzhen in Apra Harbor, Guam on 22 October 2003.
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  Shenzhen in Apra Harbor, Guam on 25 October 2003.