Chinese frigate Xuchang (536)

Xuchang (536) is a Type 054A frigate of the People's Liberation Army Navy. She was commissioned on 23 June 2017.

Development and design
The Type 054A carries HQ-16 medium-range air defence missiles and anti-submarine missiles in a vertical launching system (VLS) system. The HQ-16 has a range of up to 50 km, with superior range and engagement angles to the Type 054's HQ-7. The Type 054A's VLS uses a hot launch method; a shared common exhaust system is sited between the two rows of rectangular launching tubes.

The four AK-630 close-in weapon systems (CIWS) of the Type 054 were replaced with two Type 730 CIWS on the Type 054A. The autonomous Type 730 provides improved reaction time against close-in threats.

Construction
Xuchang was launched on 30 May 2016 at the Huangpu Shipyard in Shanghai. Commissioned on 23 June 2017.

Operational history
In 2019, Xuchang took part in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

On June 3, 2019, the ship had a four-day stopover in Sydney Harbour, Australia on the return trip as part of a three-ship taskforce along with the Type 071 amphibious transport dock Kunlun Shan and the Type 903 replenishment ship Luomahu. According to then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the naval visit was invited by the Australian Government, but the neither the New South Wales government nor the Australian public were informed ahead of the taskforce's arrival, which triggered a media frenzy among the conservative Australian media and politicians on the backdrop of rising geopolitical tension in Sino-Australian relations.