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Dubei-class target ship

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History
PRC
StatusActive
General characteristics
Class and typeDubei
TypeTarget ship (AGT) / Research ship (AGE)
Length35 m (114 ft 10 in)
PropulsionMarine Diesel
Sensors and
processing systems
Navigation radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys
None
ArmamentUnarmed
ArmourNone
Aircraft carriedNone
Aviation facilitiesNone

Dubei class target ship (AGT) and range supporting vessel is a very little known auxiliary ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN),[1][2][3] and has received the NATO reporting name Dubei class.[1][2][3] Originally built as a SWATH test platform,[4] it was subsequently converted to a target ship by adding radar reflectors and other electronic equipment to simulate various targets in support of anti-ship weaponry development,[5] but is still capable of housing different scientific instruments to perform various research tasks, and thus also acts as general purpose research ship (AGE).[1][2][3]

With the exception of the first unit of this class, ships of this class in PLAN service are designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by two-digit number. For the environmental research version, the second Chinese character is Ba (靶), meaning Target in Chinese, since from the second unit onward, this class is primarily used as target ship and range support vessels. The first Chinese character denotes which fleet the ship is service with, with East (Dong, 东) for East Sea Fleet (ESF), North (Bei, 北) for North Sea Fleet (NSF), and South (Nan, 南) for South Sea Fleet (SSF). However, their designations may have changed due to the change of Chinese naval ships naming convention or when newly completed units are assigned to different tasks in the future. The first unit is designated as Shi-Yan 216,[1][2][3] or 试验 216 in Chinese, meaning Experiment 216, indicating in addition to range support and targeting missions, it also performs other scientific research tasks. The exact details of Experiment 216 remain mostly unknown as of 2022, because Chinese authorities have not released any specific information. Specification:[1][2][3]

  • Length: 35 meter
Type NATO designation Pennant No. Name
(English)
Name
(Han 中文)
Commissioned Displacement Fleet Status
Dubei-class target ship (AGT) / research ship (AGE) Dubei class Shi-Yan 216 Experiment 216 试验 216 2015 ? t ? Active
Dong-Ba 01 East Target 01 东靶 01 2015 onward ? t East Sea Fleet Active
Nan-Ba 11 South Target 11 南靶 11 2015 onward ? t South Sea Fleet Active
Various Various Various 2015 onward ? t Under construction Active

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "PLANS recognition guide 2018". July 16, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "PLANS recognition guide 2019". February 19, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "PLANS recognition guide 2020". February 19, 2020.
  4. ^ 试验216 小型穿浪双体试验船_辅助舰艇_大海军. dahaijun.com (in Chinese). 2014. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  5. ^ 试验216 小型穿浪双体试验船. haijun360.com (in Chinese). 2013. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.