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| Type 056 Jiangdao class Corvettes (File Photo) |
A commissioning, naming and flag-presenting ceremony of the new Ningde (hull number 510) Type 056 Corvette (Jiangdao class) of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) was held solemnly today at the Xiamen Naval Base (a port city on China’s southeast coast, across a strait from Taiwan). The event means the vessel is officially commissioned to the PLAN. Ningde is the thirtieth Type 056 Corvette delivered to the PLAN fleet.
The vessel is the seventh corvette of the class to be commissioned this year. It joined the PLAN's East Sea Fleet. Earlier this month, the PLAN commissioned two similar corvettes: Boading (hull number 511) and Heze(hull number 512).
There are currently at least eleven more Type 056A and Type 056 corvettes at various stages of construction in Chinese naval shipyards. One of them (Ezhouare with hull number 513) will likely be commissioned very shortly. The PLAN recently placed another procurement order for ten more corvettes of the class. Therefore, as of today, close to 70 corvettes of this type have been ordered by the PLAN (with 40 hulls launched so far since the start of the programme in 2011).
Read the full story at Navy Recognition