1st of the Type 054B Class, FFG 545 Luohe

China’s first Type 054B frigate makes training debut in Yellow Sea

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202503/1330046.shtml

By Liu Xuanzun and Liang Rui Published: Mar 13, 2025 04:30 PM

After
its commissioning into the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy
in January, China’s first Type 054B frigate made its first public
appearance with a training exercise in the Yellow Sea on Thursday. An
expert described the rapid development of the warship’s capabilities as
astounding and predicted it would become combat-ready soon.

A
combat support ship detachment affiliated with the navy of the PLA
Northern Theater Command recently organized challenging training
exercises, including maritime VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure),
navigating under simulated complex weather conditions, as well as search
and rescue, in a move to hone the unit’s round-the-clock, all-domain
combat capabilities, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

During
the exercise in an undisclosed location in the Yellow Sea, the
replenishment ship Dongpinghu was tasked with refueling multiple
vessels. The frigate Luohe sailed to the Dongpinghu’s port side while
the destroyer Xining sailed to the Dongpinghu’s stern, as the three
vessels started a series of procedures to conduct maritime
replenishment, according to the CCTV report.

The 5,000-ton-class
Luohe, which is the PLA Navy’s first Type 054B frigate, was officially
commissioned at a naval port in Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province
on January 22, with the hull number of 545, the PLA Navy announced at
the time.

The maritime replenishment exercise marked Luohe’s
first public appearance since commissioning, according to publicly
available information reviewed by the Global Times.

The Luohe
began maritime training exercises in under two months after
commissioning, and this represents an astounding speed of combat
capability generation for China’s first Type 054B frigate, Wang Yunfei, a
Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Typically,
destroyers and frigates require about one year to reach initial
operational capability, as they must undergo a series of basic training
exercises, Wang said.

The Luohe is likely in this trial exercise
phase, undergoing a series of training tests. Further training in
far-seas voyages, defensive operations and offensive missions is
expected before the vessel reaches full operational capability, Wang
said, expecting this to take about less than two years if everything
goes smoothly, considering the ship being the first hull in its class.

As
a new-generation frigate independently developed and built by China,
the Luohe features advancements in stealth technology, combat command
systems and integrated firepower control, among other aspects. The ship
boasts strong combat capabilities and versatility in military missions,
which are of great significance for improving the overall combat
effectiveness of naval warship formations, the PLA Navy said when the
vessel was commissioned.