The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) continues to consolidate and expand its surface fleet through the sustained induction of new Type 052D guided-missile destroyers—a class that has become one of the main pillars of the force’s escort and air-defense capabilities. With deliveries confirmed throughout 2025 and into early 2026, followed by commissioning, the Asian giant’s navy would now have at least thirty-five (35) Type 052D destroyers in active service, reflecting a program that maintains a high production tempo and a combat platform undergoing constant capability evolution.
In recent hours, Chinese state media released footage related to the destroyer Ganzi (128), a unit whose entry into service reportedly took place in December 2025, though its induction has only now been publicly disclosed. According to available information, the ship would be assigned to the Northern Theater Command, reinforcing China’s naval presence in the Yellow Sea and adjacent areas.
During its recent deployment, Ganzi conducted comprehensive training exercises in an unspecified area, including anti-submarine operations, night maneuvers, buoy mooring and unmooring, maritime rescue tasks, and air operations with the embarked helicopters that form part of its complement. These activities are intended to accelerate the crew’s operational readiness process and its full integration into the PLAN’s surface formations.
The induction of Ganzi adds to other recent developments involving the Type 052D class. In early January, the entry into service of the destroyer Loudi (176) was confirmed, while other units—such as Tongchuan (177) and Rikaze (159)—are reported to have been commissioned between late 2025 and early 2026, helping raise the total number of operational Type 052D destroyers to a fleet of 35 ships.
From a technical standpoint, the Type 052D was the first PLAN destroyer equipped with vertical launch systems (VLS), enabling it to employ a wide range of surface-to-air, anti-ship, and land-attack missiles. This capability, combined with advanced sensors and a multi-role architecture, makes it a platform suited both to independent operations and to escort roles within task groups, including those formed around the aircraft carriers Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian.
In the newest units of the class, including Ganzi, improvements have been observed in radar systems, particularly a new configuration on the main mast based on dual-face rotating antennas. These modifications aim to reduce blind spots, extend detection range, and improve the ship’s survivability in high-threat environments, strengthening its air-defense and command-and-control capabilities.
The constant evolution of the Type 052D—through incremental upgrades applied across successive batches—largely explains why this class has become the backbone of China’s destroyer fleet. Its balance of capabilities, costs, and modernization potential has allowed the PLAN to field a significant number of units that today perform key escort, sea-control, and naval presence missions both in near seas and in open-ocean scenarios.
Finally, it is worth noting that the continued induction of these modern naval units continues to reflect the central role of China’s strategy to reinforce its fleet capabilities and its presence in the regional theater.
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