PLAN HUANGGANG (577) is a Chinese Type 054A guided-missile frigate, known by NATO as the Jiangkai II class, serving with the People's Liberation Army Navy's Eastern Theater Command Navy.
Built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Shanghai, HUANGGANG was launched on 28 April 2013 and formally commissioned on 16 January 2015. Named after the city of Huanggang in Hubei Province, she entered service as one of the later units of China's large Type 054A frigate programme.
The vessel combines anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine capabilities in a relatively compact ocean-going platform. She has a full-load displacement of approximately 4,000 tonnes, measures about 134 metres in length, and is powered by a four-engine CODAD diesel propulsion arrangement giving a maximum speed of approximately 27 knots.
Vessel Details
Name: HUANGGANG
Chinese Name: 黄冈舰
Pennant Number: 577
Type: Guided-Missile Frigate
Class: Type 054A / Jiangkai II class
Operator: People's Liberation Army Navy – PLAN
Fleet: Eastern Theater Command Navy / former East Sea Fleet
Namesake: Huanggang, Hubei Province, China
Builder: Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Shanghai, China
Construction Began: December 2011
Launched: 28 April 2013
Commissioned: 16 January 2015
Length Overall: approx. 134.1 m
Beam: approx. 16 m
Full Load Displacement: approx. 4,000–4,053 t
Propulsion: CODAD
Main Engines: 4 × Shaanxi 16 PA6 STC diesel engines
Power: approx. 5,700 kW each
Maximum Speed: approx. 27 knots
Estimated Range: approx. 8,000 nautical miles
Complement: approx. 165
Aviation Facilities: Helicopter flight deck and hangar
Helicopter: Z-9 series or Ka-28 depending on operational assignment
Current Status: Active
A Type 054A Frigate
HUANGGANG belongs to China's highly successful Type 054A frigate programme, which became one of the principal surface-combatant classes of the modern People's Liberation Army Navy.
The class was designed as a multi-role escort vessel capable of providing fleet air defence while also carrying out anti-submarine, surface-warfare, patrol and long-range escort missions.
One of its most recognisable features is the 32-cell vertical launch system located forward of the bridge.
The VLS can accommodate HQ-16 medium-range surface-to-air missiles as well as anti-submarine weapons, giving the Type 054A substantially greater air-defence capability than earlier Chinese frigate classes.
Armament
HUANGGANG's principal weapons configuration includes:
1 × 32-cell Vertical Launch System
for HQ-16 surface-to-air missiles and Yu-8 anti-submarine weapons
2 × quadruple anti-ship missile launchers
providing a total of eight anti-ship missiles
1 × PJ26 76 mm main gun
2 × Type 730 close-in weapon systems
2 × triple 324 mm torpedo launchers
Type 87 anti-submarine rocket launchers
The frigate also carries electronic-warfare and decoy systems and is equipped with air/surface-search, fire-control and sonar systems for both conventional fleet operations and anti-submarine warfare.
The 26th Chinese Naval Escort Task Group
One of the most important deployments in HUANGGANG's career began on 1 April 2017, when she departed China as part of the People's Liberation Army Navy's 26th Escort Task Group.
The formation consisted of:
HUANGGANG – 577
Type 054A frigate
YANGZHOU – 578
Type 054A frigate
GAOYOUHU – 966
Type 903A replenishment ship
The task group was deployed to the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia, continuing China's long-running contribution to international anti-piracy and merchant-vessel escort operations.
For all three ships, the deployment represented their first anti-piracy escort mission.
During the mission, HUANGGANG also operated independently for periods and called at Djibouti in May 2017 for replenishment and crew rest.
The 26th Escort Task Group ultimately completed 42 escort operations before finishing its Gulf of Aden mission in August 2017.
From the Gulf of Aden to Europe
Following completion of the anti-piracy deployment, the three vessels began an extensive series of overseas visits.
HUANGGANG, YANGZHOU and GAOYOUHU visited several European ports, including stops in Belgium, Denmark, the United Kingdom and France.
On 15 October 2017, the formation arrived at the French naval base of Toulon, where the ships conducted a four-day goodwill visit and naval exchanges with the French Navy.
The voyage demonstrated the growing ability of the PLAN to sustain modern surface combatants during prolonged deployments far from Chinese home waters.
Arrival in Piraeus
After leaving France, the Chinese formation continued into the Eastern Mediterranean.
On the morning of 23 October 2017, the three ships entered the Port of Piraeus for a goodwill visit:
PLAN HUANGGANG – 577
PLAN YANGZHOU – 578
PLAN GAOYOUHU – 966
Their arrival attracted considerable attention in Piraeus, with the two Type 054A frigates and the large replenishment ship forming an unusual Chinese naval presence inside Greece's largest port.
HUANGGANG's appearance was particularly notable because the frigate had been in commission for less than three years and was returning from her first major long-range operational deployment.
Piraeus Connection
PiraeuShips recorded HUANGGANG entering Piraeus on 23 October 2017, together with sister frigate YANGZHOU and fleet replenishment ship GAOYOUHU.
The footage therefore documents part of the PLAN's 26th Escort Task Group during the final stages of an exceptionally long overseas deployment that had begun in China more than six months earlier and had included anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden followed by visits to European ports.
The original PLAN HUANGGANG 577 entry was subsequently published by PiraeuShips in November 2017.
Still Active in 2026
More than eleven years after entering service, HUANGGANG remains an active frontline unit of the Chinese Navy.
Her continued operational status was independently documented as recently as April 2026.
On 19 April 2026, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force identified HUANGGANG operating together with the Chinese Type 052D destroyer BAOTOU (133) southwest of Japan's Yokoto Island before the two ships proceeded toward the Pacific.
The same formation was observed again on 22 April 2026, passing between Yonaguni and Iriomote while returning toward the East China Sea.
These sightings confirm HUANGGANG's continuing operational use with the PLAN more than a decade after commissioning.
PiraeuShips Record
PLAN HUANGGANG was recorded at Piraeus by PiraeuShips on 23 October 2017 during the frigate's first major long-range deployment. Built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and commissioned into the Chinese Navy in January 2015, HUANGGANG formed part of the PLAN's 26th Escort Task Group together with sister frigate YANGZHOU and replenishment ship GAOYOUHU. After completing anti-piracy and merchant-escort operations in the Gulf of Aden, the formation visited a series of European ports before entering Piraeus. Still active with the Chinese Navy in 2026, HUANGGANG remains part of the large Type 054A frigate force that has played a central role in the PLAN's development into an ocean-going navy.
Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.
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