Chinese naval clasification

Just wondered, Have anybody heard which ways chinese navy classifyes its ships, namely bigger surface combatants?? Do they follow their own path or have they adapted some foreing system e.q Soviet system (older or newer??) or have they stick on the somewhat obsolete and misleading Western/Nato nomelacture?? Just popped to my mind.

If anyone has info of what kind of system is used, I would love to hear more. Also, i dont mind a little conversation of what kind system they should have (and what kind of changes we have to 'standardise' our own terms?)

or have they stick on the somewhat obsolete and misleading Western/Nato nomelacture??

Click to expand...

Ok I will bite. What is misleading about the way western Navies/NATO(i.e. USN) classify their ships?

I do not know how the PLAn does theirs either. I just know they put numbers on them.

Gollevainen said:

Just wondered, Have anybody heard which ways chinese navy classifyes its ships, namely bigger surface combatants?? Do they follow their own path or have they adapted some foreing system e.q Soviet system (older or newer??) or have they stick on the somewhat obsolete and misleading Western/Nato nomelacture?? Just popped to my mind.

If anyone has info of what kind of system is used, I would love to hear more. Also, i dont mind a little conversation of what kind system they should have (and what kind of changes we have to 'standardise' our own terms?)

Click to expand...

tip:info is not 100% accurate, its an attempt to translate the chinese classification to a standard more familiar.


scroll to the china part, it has info on warships, subs, and aux.

What is misleading about the way western Navies/NATO(i.e. USN) classify their ships?

Click to expand...

well its mostly dated from WWII era. It cames clerly evidence whit Destroyers (DDs and DDGs) which aren any longer same that they were back in the WWII. In Nato, DDGs are whitout any exeption Anti Aircraft missile ships, but in USSR and China they were and are mostly multimission ASW/ASuW ships whit considerable anti aircraft assets also. Only the Sovromenyi class could be decribed as destroyer nowadays ships, couse its dedicated to destroy other ships whit similarly than older 'torbedo-boat destroyers'. Hence the Russian designation EM, eskardnyi minosets or squardon mineship (mine has same name as torbedo in russia). All NATOsdestroyers and most of others as well are mainly major escorts to convoys or Carriers. Also cruisers arent anylonger cruisers that operates independently, but in USA they are even more bigger escorts and In Russia more like flagships and flotilla leaders an the Kirovs more like lineships (battle ships)

Frigates are other proplem. Thougth there still exist pure ASW escorts to which it was orginally picked to descripe, the name has now implyed to ships from 600 to 6,000 tons. In many smaller navyes, Frigates does the task of destroyers as well and like in Russia, there isent any such designation to ship. Closest Russian counter part is SRK, guard ship or MPK, small ASW ship. or BPK more of large ASW hunter/escort of Cruiser size (Krestas and Karas as well as Udaloys were all BPK, but still pointed to different tasks in Soviet planning.)

But I have no proplems of knowing chinese ships and how others clasifyes them, What im intressed how PLAN themselfs clasifyes it ships, or like how does the Chinese media descripes them?? What Ludas are? The Jianghus?? Jiangweis?? Do they differns from these newer desings??

There's the soviet designation
Abbrev. Classification Translation
===== ============== ===============
AK Avianosnyy Kreyser Aircraft Carrying Cruiser
AKA Artilleriyskiy Kater Artillery Cutter
AKVP Amfibiynyy Kater Na Vozdushnoy Rechnoyy Air Cushion Amphibious Craft
AKVP Amfibiynyy Kater Na Vozdushnoy Air Cushion Amphibious Craft
Podushke Rechnoyy
BDK Bol'shoy Desantnyy Korabl' Large Landing Ship
BPK Bol'shoy Protivolodochnyy Korabl' Large Antisubmarine Ship
BPKR Bol'shoy Protivolodochnyy Kreyer Large Antisubmarine Cruiser
BRK Bol'shoy Raketnyy Korabl' Large Missile Ship
BT Bazovyy Tral'shchik Base Minesweeper
BTK Bol'shoy Torpednyy Kater Large Torpedo Cutter (craft)
DK Desantnyy Korabl' Landing Ship
DKA Desantnyy Kater Landing Cutter (craft)
DKVP Desantnyy Korabl' Na
Vozdushnoy Podushke Air Cushion Landing Ship
DS Desantnyy Sudno Landing Vessel
EHOS Expeditsionnoye
Okeanograficheskoye Sudno Expeditionary Oceanographic Vessel
EM Eskadrenny Minonosets Destroyer (literally: squadron
mine vessel)
ENS Elektrostanttsiye Nalivatel'noye
Sudno Electric Power Station Vessel
GKS Gidroakusticheskoye
Kontrol'noye Sudno Hydroacoustic Monitoring Vessel
GP Gidrografichekoye Pribrezhnyy Bot Inshore Survey Craft
GS Gidrograficheskoye Sudno Hydrographic Vessel
KIL Kilektor Lift Ship
KR Kreyser Cruiser
KRZ Korabl' Razvedyvatel'nyy Intelligence Ship
KS Kabel'noye Sudno Cable Vessel
KSV Korabl' Svyazey Communications Ship
KT Kater Tral'shchik Minesweeping Cutter (craft)
KTs Kontrol'naya Tsel' Controlled target
KVN Korabl' Vozdushnogo
Nablyudeniya Radar Surveillance Ship
LDK Ledokol Icebreaker
MB Morskoy Buksir Seagoing Tug
MPK Malyy Protivolodochnyy Korabl' Small Antisubmarine Ship
MRK Malyy Raketnyy Korabl' Small Missile Ship
MT Morskoy Tral'shchik Seagoing Minesweeper
MVT Morskoy Vodnyy Tanker Seagoing Water Tanker
OS Opitnoye Sudno Experimental Vessel
PB Plavuchaya Baza Floating Base
PKA Protivolodochnyy Kater Antisubmarine Cutter
PKR Protivolodochnyy Kreyser Antisubmarine Cruiser
PL Podvodnaya Lodka Submarine
PLA Podvodnaya Lodka Atomnaya Submarine (nuclear)
PLARB Podvodnaya Lodka Atomnaya
Raketnaya Ballistecheskaya Ballistic Missile Submarine (nuclear)
PLARK Podvodnaya Lodka Atomnaya
Raketnaya Krylataya Cruise Missile Submarine (nuclear)
PLRB Podvodnaya Lodka Raketnaya
Ballistecheskaya Ballistic Missile Submarine
PLRK Podvodnaya Lodka Raketnaya
Krylataya Cruise Missile Submarine
PLK Protivolodochnyy Korabl' Antisubmarine Ship
PM Plavuchaya Masterskaya Floating Workshop
PSKR Pogranichniy Storoshevoy
Korabl' Border Patrol Ship
PZHK Pozharnyy Kater Firefighting Cutter (craft)
PZHS Pozharnoye Sudno Firefighting Vessel
RKA Raketnyy Kater Missile Cutter
RKR Raketnyy Kreyser Missile Cruiser
RT Reydovoy Tral'shchik Roadstead Minesweeper
SB Spasatel'nyy Buksir Rescue Tug
SBR Sudno Bol'shogo
Razmagnichivanya Large Deperming Vessel
SDK Srednyy Desantnyy Korabl' Medium Landing Ship
SKA Storozhevoy Kater Patrol Cutter (craft)
SKR Storoshevoy Korabl' Patrol Ship
SR Sudno Razmagnichivanya Deperming Vessel
SS Spasatel'noye Sudno Salvage Vessel
SSV Sudno Svyazey Communications Vessel
TAKR Takticheskoye Avianosnyy
Kreyser Tactical Aircraft Carrying Cruiser
TKA Torpednyy Kater Torpedo Cutter
TPKR Tyazholyi Protivolodochnyy Kreyser Heavy Antisubmarine Cruiser
US Uchebnoye Sudno Training Vessel
VT Voyenyy Tanker Military Tanker
VT Vspomagatek'byy Tral'shchik Auxiliary Minesweeper
VTR Voyenyy Transport Military Transport
ZM Zaggraditel' Minnyy Minelayer

I founded it more complicated than the NATO STANAG designation, i don't think the chinese are using it, but otherwise, i think the chinese maybe use the NATO designation, i think it's the easiest to use... very easy to understand...

Well Soviets did have lot of designations, but i have found them more spesific one and its more simpler to say about the clasification of ship, that wich task its pointed to do. but i doupt that Chinese would have chosen the Western system as their earliest ship building was pretty much line whit Soviet thinking and not whit the ocean escort thinking that seems to dominate the STANAG system...

Here's a scan of the NATO STANAG (Standart Agreement) naval designation, i hope it can enlight you, I think the chinese are heading this since sometime, they said like daodancuzhoujian (sry for mispelling, i'm not chinese after all) or missile destroyer, will correspond to a DDG

I Know the STAGNAT system...I just think it's bit misleading. But if Chinese ship is missile destroyer is it soviet stlye rocketnyy koralb (SSM) or western DDG (SAM)?

The Jianghu's defenetly aren't any escort ship, more like small anti-surfaceships more of soviet thinking and also akin to PreWWII large torbedoboats wich where like coastal destroyers. Also they are driven from the Soviet Riga class, classic SRK (guardship). THis makes me more beliveing that at least in the old days chinese desingnation system resambled more of soviet ones than western. But after flirtating whit the west in the 1980's ships build after that (Luhus and Jiangweis) are more western type of ships than sovietones...perhaps some sort of shift happened back then...

This may not be the most comprehensive, but...

Aircraft Carrier HangKong MuJian - well, you not need explaination on that

Destroyer - QuZhujian - multi-purpose surface combatants with anti-air, ASW, and surface strike capability

Missile Destroyer - Daodan Quzhujian - destroyer with missiles. All destroyers in service with the PLA are in this class.

Frigate - Huweijian - single-purpose surface combatants

Missile Frigate - Daodan Huweijian - frigate with missiles. Again, all PLAN frigates belong to this class

Escort Boat - Huweiting - Surface combatant less than 500t displacement

Missile Escort Boat - Daodan Huweiting - Escort boat with missile

FAC - Kuaiting - Anything less than 100t, notmally with a definition, such as missile FAC (Daodan Kuaiting), torpedo FAC (Yulei Kuaiting), or Gun FAC (Huopao Kuaiting)

Sub Chaser - Lieqianting - The most confusing one, normally refer to small escort boats (100~300t) fitted with antisubmarine rocket launchers and guns, though they are rearly involved in ASW operations. Normally these boats are used for patrol mission.

As you can see, it is actually quite different from the Soviet system. Normally each country has its own definition on classification of warships. For example, Japan calls whatever surface warship it has "Frigate". The largest "frigate" is Aegis-equipped 9,000t warship similar to the U.S. Arleigh Burke class. it is also planning to build a 12,000t 'frigate' with island command tower and large flight deck that can take off helicopters and Sea Harrier/AV-8B.

To expand the topic, what is the PLAN's ship naming conventions.

The US uses famous battles for its Cruisers, Presidents or dignitaries for carriers, states for SSBN's, etc.