Naval Systems

Type 056 / Type 056A Jiangdao-class corvette

The Type 056 / Type 056A Jiangdao-class corvette is a Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy corvette family built for littoral patrol, escort, and coastal warfare duties. Reference sources describe the Type 056 as the baseline class and the Type 056A as the anti-submarine-warfare variant, with the family built across multiple Chinese shipyards and fitted with a 76 mm gun, anti-ship missiles, and torpedo tubes.

Profile

Origin
People's Republic of China
Built by
Hudong-Zhonghua ShipbuildingGuangzhou Huangpu ShipbuildingWuchang Shipbuilding Industry GroupDalian Liaonan Shipyard
Type
Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy corvette and anti-submarine-warfare corvette family
Service note
2013-present
Produced
2012-2021
Number built
More than 70 hulls across Type 056, Type 056A, and export variants
Variants
Type 056 baseline corvette, Type 056A anti-submarine-warfare variant, P18N export corvette

Also Known As

  • Type 056
  • Type 056A
  • Type 056A Jiangdao-class corvette
  • Jiangdao-class corvette
  • Jiangdao-class light frigate
  • Jiangdao-class patrol corvette

Specifications

Displacement
About 1,500 tons
Length
About 90 m
Speed
About 25-28 knots
Crew
About 78
Armament
76 mm main gun, anti-ship missiles, close-in air defense launcher, and triple torpedo tubes
Sensors
Type 360 air/surface search radar; Type 347G fire-control radar; Type 056A variants add bow sonar and towed-array or variable-depth sonar

Service And Conflict Use

Service History

In service
Entered service in 2013 and expanded into the Type 056A anti-submarine variant from 2014; later Type 056 hulls were transferred out of PLAN service while Type 056A units continued in active use.
Used by
People's Liberation Army Navy, China Coast Guard, Foreign operators

Timeline

Type 056 / Type 056A Jiangdao-class corvette Key Events

  1. First Type 056 enters service

    The first Type 056 corvette entered PLAN service in March 2013, beginning the class's operational run.

    Sources: Jiangdao Type-056 Frigate/Corvette (FFL)

  2. Final Type 056A corvettes commissioned

    Chinese naval reporting and defense coverage described the commissioning of the final Type 056A corvettes, marking the end of the family build-out for the PLAN.

    Sources: Jiangdao Type 056A ASW Variant

Type 056 / Type 056A Jiangdao-class corvette Images

Related Weapon Systems

Sources