Type 909 weapon trials ship
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- Zhongua Shipyard
- Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding
People's Liberation Army Navy| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders |
|
| Operators | People's Liberation Army Navy |
| Built | 1997 - 2014 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Active | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type |
|
| Displacement | 6,096 tonnes (full)[1] |
| Length | 130 m (426 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Beam | 17.5 m (57 ft 5 in)[1] |
| Draught | 7 m (23 ft 0 in)[1] |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)[1] |
| Complement | 80[1] |
| Aircraft carried | 1 medium helicopter (891)[1] |
| Aviation facilities | Helicopter pad (891)[1] |
The Type 909 (NATO reporting name: Dahua) is a class of Chinese auxiliary ship. Four were built for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as weapon trial and oceanographic research ships.[1][2]
The first ship, Bi Sheng, was completed as a weapons test range ship with Russian MR-90 "Front Dome" radar and electronic countermeasures. It operated as an electronic intelligence ship near Japan in February 2000 prior to PLAN exercises. Bi Sheng was converted into a weapon trial ship at the Wuhu shipyard, and received pennant number 891 in October 2002; while at the shipyard the hull was designated "Wuhu-B" by Western intelligence.[3] Bi Sheng was equipped with "Top Plate" air search radar and "Front Dome" fire control radar[1] and may have test fired the CJ-10 land-attack cruise missile in August 2012.[4]
The design of the third ship, Zhan Tianyou, may have been a modified Type 636 hydrographic survey ship.[1] It had a raised bow breakwater and an enclosed, instead of a lattice, foremast.[3]
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, by 2024 two were used as weapon trial ships and two were oceanographic research ships.[2]
