"Happy Monday for all of your VLS counters out there," the blog author wrote — and the high‑resolution shipyard photos behind that quip are the reason.
Hudong‑Zhonghua and CSSC Huangpu Wenchong photos show second‑batch hulls
Clear, close‑in photographs taken at Shanghai's Hudong‑Zhonghua Shipyard and at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong in Guangzhou show additional Type 054B guided‑missile frigates moving toward launch. The blog that published the images notes a vessel sliding toward launch at Huangpu and identifies a separate hull taking shape in Shanghai’s Pudong Changxingdao yard. The author also posted a "bonus photo" of two Type 55 destroyers under construction at Dalian shipbuilding up north.
Apparent VLS increase: from 32 on the first pair to possibly 48 on the second batch
The photos have generated focused attention because they appear to show a change in vertical launching system (VLS) capacity. The first two Type 054B frigates entered service with 32 VLS cells, and the new images suggest the second production batch may be fitted with up to 48 VLS cells. The blog frames this as a potential jump from 32 to 48 cells — a difference it calls "a meaningful jump in flexibility and firepower" and "arguably the bigger story than the hull count."
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End the scrambleProduction tempo: two commissioned, a third spotted, and rumors of an eight‑ship second batch
The Type 054B program has moved from initial introduction toward higher tempo. The PLA Navy commissioned its first Type 054B, the Luohe (hull number 545, displacement about 5,000 tons), on January 22, 2025, according to a Global Times report citing Xinhua. After two ships entered service in early 2025, a third hull was publicly spotted under construction at Pudong Changxingdao on March 1, 2026. The blog cites rumors that the second batch could include eight additional ships; taken together with the two already commissioned, that would place the class on track for roughly ten ships in service within a few years. The author characterizes the build rate with the Chinese phrase 下饺子, invoking a rapid, repeat production tempo.
Huangpu vs. Hudong‑Zhonghua: parallel construction and hull‑number debate
Observers have debated hull numbering as vessels progress down multiple slipways. The blog explains the confusion: Huangpu and Hudong‑Zhonghua are building Type 054Bs in parallel, and that overlap has produced disagreement over whether a particular hull is the fifth or sixth. The post treats the numbering debate as "mostly noise" and stresses that the important signal is the production tempo and the apparent hardware changes visible in the photos.
What this means for CSSC shipbuilders, the PLAN, and OSINT observers
- CSSC shipbuilders (Huangpu, Hudong‑Zhonghua, Dalian): parallel construction is continuing across multiple yards — the photos show active slipways at several sites and new hulls nearing launch or assembly.
- The PLA Navy (the PLAN): if the second batch does indeed move from 32 to as many as 48 VLS cells, the class would carry a larger VLS capacity per hull than the initial pair, according to the blog’s assessment; fleet size could grow to roughly ten ships in the near term if the rumored second batch materializes.
- OSINT and naval‑watching communities (VLS counters and ship‑spotters): the new shipyard imagery has reignited the longstanding, detail‑focused practice of tracking hull numbers, VLS counts, and slipway progress — the blog explicitly celebrates the return of high‑resolution, boots‑on‑the‑ground photographs after an era dominated by satellite imagery.
The record provided by these shipyard photos is straightforward: multiple Type 054B hulls are under construction across at least two major yards, imagery suggests an increase in VLS capacity for the second batch, and the program appears to be accelerating toward a fleet of roughly ten ships if current rumors hold. The additional images of two Type 55 destroyers at Dalian underline that major surface combatant construction is active at more than one northern and southern yard. What remains to be seen — and what the photos themselves do not definitively resolve — is formal confirmation of the 48‑cell VLS fit and the final size of the second production batch.
