China commissions final two Type 056A corvettes

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) recently commissioned the final two Type 056A or Jiangdao-class corvettes to be built.

The 86-metre vessels have been named Nanyang and Shangqiu after two cities in Henan province in central China.

The corvettes are optimised for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions but may also be used for anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and anti-air warfare (AAW). Armament includes anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes, a 76-millimetre naval gun, and two 30-millimetre autocannons.