The Loudi, a Type 052D guided missile destroyer, has entered services with the PLA Navy, official Chinese media reports on January 1, 2026. Photo: Screenshot from China Central Television

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has commissioned a new Type 052D guided missile destroyer, which features upgraded radar, weapon and network systems, leading to enhanced regional air defense, sea attack and task force command capabilities, official media reported.

The newly commissioned Type 052D is named Loudi, with the hull number 176, the military channel of China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Thursday.

Official media reports show that China’s first Type 052D destroyer, the Kunming, entered service with the PLA Navy on March 21, 2014. Since then, multiple hulls of this ship class have been commissioned, with modifications and improvements made during the process.

The latest version of the Type 052D, including the Loudi, as shown in the CCTV report, features a new radar on the main mast. Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times that the new radar configuration indicates it is likely a dual-face rotating active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, which delivers significant improvements over the original mast-mounted radar on earlier Type 052D destroyers.

Zhang Shengwei, a crew member of the Loudi, was quoted by CCTV as saying that the new-type warship adopts a new system and a new architecture, giving it enhanced combat capabilities in air defense, sea attack and task force command.

The Loudi can not only conduct long-range assault and strike missions against its targets, but also defend friendly ships in defensive missions, Zhang said.