Encounter at Rizal Reef – BRP Conrado Yap vs. Liupanshui, April 2020

The BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39) Corvette of the Philippine Navy (PN). Photo by the Philippine News Agency (PNA)

In April 2020, two anonymous Philippine Government Officials leaked to the Associated Press (AP) News Organization that an incident occurred between the Naval Ships of the Philippines and China.¹

The Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Western Command, Vice Admiral Rene Medina subsequently provided more details of what happened,² so time to take a look at the whole incident.

’The Incident’
The BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39) Corvette of the Philippine Navy (PN) was on routine Patrol near the Rizal Reef (also known as the Commodore Reef) in the South China Sea (SCS) in February 2020 when it encountered a Chinese Naval Vessel with Bow Number 514.

Looking at available open sources in the internet, this is likely to be the Type 056A Jiangdao class Corvette Liupanshui of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

Both Vessels exchanged Radio Messages, but the Crew of the BRP Yap said that they saw the “Gun Control Director” of the Liupanshui being aimed at their Ship. The two Vessels then continued on to their own respective voyages.

’Gun Control Director’
The Gun Control Director as described by Vice Adm. Medina is likely the Fire Control Radar (FCR) which is a type of radar used by Weapons Platforms such as Ships or Aircraft to provide more precise information of a Target’s Direction, Altitude and Distance that could be used by weapons such as Guns and/or Missiles.

When turned on, these FCRs emit narrow, intense Radio Waves that can be picked up by Electronic Warfare (EW) equipment and serve as a warning of a target that a weapon might be preparing to fire on it.

’Removed EW Equipment’
Unfortunately, as per Vice Adm. Medina some of the BRP Yap’s EW Systems have been removed when it was transferred from South Korea, so the Yap could not tell if the FCR pointed to them had been activated.

As per some sources, the Yap uses the ULQ-12K Electronic Support Measure (ESM)³ which works in conjunction with the Microwave Analysis, Threat Indication and Launch Direction Apparatus (MATILDA) D-to-J-band Radar Warning Receiver (RWR).^{4 5}

The MATILDA RWR is actually the one that detects the emissions from Radars like the FCR, and it along with the ULQ-12K apparently were removed from the Ship.

’FCR Intimidation’
Because it is usually a prerequisite to the firing of Weapons and it emits a highly detectable signal to EW Equipment, the aiming and activation of FCRs have been used by Military Assets to intimidate the Assets of other Militaries for quite some time now.

It has happened all over the World and will continue to happen, and there are several examples of such incidents in Asia. For example, in 2013 a Type 054 Jiangkai I and Type 053H3 Jiangwei II Frigate of the PLAN reportedly aimed and activated their FCRs at a SH-60K Helicopter and a Shiratsuyu class Destroyer of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) in the East China Sea.⁶

In 2016, China accused two Japanese F-15J Eagle of activating their FCRs against two of their Su-30 Flanker C aircraft also over the East China Sea.⁷

In 2018, Japan accused a Gwanggaeto the Great class Destroyer of the Republic of Korean Navy (ROKN) of pointing and activating an FCR at one of its P-1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) in the East Sea.⁸

’FCRs’
The FCR used by the Liupanshui is the Type 347 I-band which is fairly common in the PLAN’s Ships. Details about it in the internet are a little bit hazy and contradictory though as it is sometimes called as the Type 347G Rice Bowl or TR-47.

It is reportedly an unauthorized but improved copy of 1980s Italian Radar Technology and can detect an aerial target with as small a Radar Cross Section (RCS) as 0.1 m^2 at 6 km.⁹

The BRP Yap also has FCRs of its own, the WM-28 I/J-band which is similar to the ones used on the Del Pilar class Ships of the PN. But unlike the Type 347, its antenna is enclosed in an Egg shaped structure hence observers won’t be able to see it being pointed at them.

The WM-28 can reportedly detect an aerial target as small as 5 m^2 in RCS at 46 km as per Game Simulation data.¹⁰

The Yap also reportedly has the Lightweight Radar/Optronic Director (LIROD) which combines a K-band FCR with an Electro-Optical (EO) system. The LIROD’s FCR has a range of 24 km.¹¹ This one like the Type 347 is not enclosed and can be seen being pointed at another vessel.

’The Corvettes’
The BRP Yap is the first and so far only Pohang class Corvette of the PN and was commissioned into service in August of last year (2019).¹² It was formerly known as the Chungju (PCC-762) which served with the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) from 1987 to 2016 (29 years).

The ROKN commissioned a total of two dozen Pohang Corvettes from 1984 to 1993, some of which are still in service up to now.¹³ Aside from South Korea and the Philippines, Peru, Vietnam, Egypt and Colombia also operate the vessel.

The Liupanshui on the other hand is a much newer ship, having been commissioned by the PLAN only in 2017. The Type 056A is an improved version of the Type 056 with Towed and Variable Depth Sonar (VDS).¹⁴

The Type 056 was built starting in 2012 and as of 2020 a total of 60 Type 056/056A vessels have been completed already,¹⁵ averaging a production rate of at least seven per year. Aside from China, Bangladesh and Nigeria also operates variants of the vessel.

The BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39) and the Liupanshui (514) Corvettes. Original images by the Shipbucket Website.

’Comparison’
The two vessels are around the same length, with the Liupanshui having a sleeker Stealth profile typical of more modern ships nowadays. The Liupanshui is slightly heavier by 280 tons, but the lighter Yap is faster by around 4 knots.

The Liupanshui also can also travel much further than the Yap by more than 4,600 km, and because of more automation it requires 22 less Crew to man. The Liupanshui uses a Combined Diesel And Diesel (CODAD) propulsion while the Yap uses the Combined Diesel Or Gas (CODOG).

’Main Guns’^{16 17 18}
The big question here of course is how these Ships would’ve fared had they actually ended up shooting at each other, so let’s take a look at their weapons starting with the Main Gun.

The BRP Yap has two main guns, both of which are the 76 mm/62 Compact which is one of the most popular Naval Guns ever produced and is made by the Italian company Oto Melara.

The Liupanshui on the other hand only has one main gun, the 76mm H/PJ-26 which is a licensed and improved copy of the Russian AK-176 gun and is made by the Chinese State company 713th Institute.

Both have the same 76.2 mm caliber, but the Compact fires ammunition with a more powerful Bursting Charge (BC) of 0.75 kg versus the 0.48 kg of the H/PJ-26. It also has a longer range of around 18 km compared to the H/PJ-26’s 16 km range.

Individually though the H/PJ-26 has a higher Rate of Fire (ROF) of up to 130 rounds per minute (rpm) or 2.2 rounds per second (rps) whereas the Compact can only fire 80 rpm (1.3 rps). However, since the BRP Yap has two Compact guns, it can fire them at the combined ROF of 160 rpm (2.7 rps).

’Secondary Guns’
Both the BRP Yap and the Liupanshui has two secondary guns, the Yap has the Twin Fast Forty (TF40) which are made by Oto Melara, the same company that made the 76 mm/62 Compact Gun. The Liupanshui has the H/PJ-17 as its secondary guns.

I couldn’t find any reliable information about the details of the H/PJ-17 though, hence some of the information I will be using here may not be accurate. At any rate, the TF40 has a very high rate of fire at 900 rpm (15 rps) per gun, so for two guns that is 1,800 rpm (30 rps).

The H/PJ-17 reportedly only has an rpm of 350 (5.8 rps) per gun or 700 rpm (11.6 rps) for two guns, if so then it is much slower than that of the Yap’s TF40.

The TF40 fires the 40 x 365R mm caliber round that has a maximum range of 12.5 km and a BC of 0.115 kg. The H/PJ-17 on the other hand, if it really uses the 30 x 165 mm caliber round then it only has a maximum range of 4 km and a BC of 0.049 kg.

’Missiles’^{19 20}
Here the BRP Yap has a big disadvantage since it is not currently fitted with any missile yet whereas the Liupanshui has four Ying Ji-83 (YJ-83) Anti-Ship Missiles (AShM) and eight Hai Hong Qi-10 (HHQ-10) short range Surface to Air Missiles (SAM).

The YJ-83 (with Ying Ji meaning Eagle Strike) first entered service in China in 1998 and is a subsonic missile with a relatively large warhead of 190 kg and a range of 180 km. It uses an Inertial Navigation System (INS) for guidance after launch and an Active Radar Guidance System when it is near the target.

A copy by Iran of a missile in the same family of missiles as the YJ-83, the C-802 Noor was in the news recently when it hit a Hendijan-class Support Vessel Konarak after it was accidentally fired by the Moudge class Frigate Jamaran during a Training Exercise.²¹

The Noor has a lighter warhead than the YJ-83 at 165 kg, but it completely destroyed the Superstructure of the 51 m long, 650 ton weight Konarak. The BRP Yap is much longer at 88 m and almost twice as heavy as the Konarak at 1,200 tons, but a single hit from the YJ-83 will likely do significant damage. Hits from at least two YJ-83 missiles could be catastrophic for the Yap.

The HHQ-10 (with Hai Hong Qi meaning Naval Red Flag) first entered service in China in 2012-2013 and is a supersonic missile with a 3 kg warhead and range of up to 9 km. It uses a Passive Radar and Infra-Red Homing Guidance system.

The HHQ-10 is mainly used for Anti-Air Defense, but as a last resort could also be used to attack Ships, although with its lighter 3 kg warhead it won't do anywhere as much damage as the YJ-83.

’Air Support’
Another advantage of the Liupanshui is its ability to carry a Helicopter and provide its own Air Support. After a certain distance, an enemy Ship will naturally be hidden visually and from Surface based Radar behind the Curvature of the Earth.

It’s a bit tricky to calculate exactly at what distance this will be since it is also dependent on the height of the Radar Antenna and the height of the Ship, but typically this is around 30-40 km.²²

Beyond that distance, a Radar Antenna will need to be elevated to a higher altitude so it can detect the enemy Ship, and this is called Over The Horizon Targeting (OTHT) and can be done using a Helicopter with a Multi-Purpose Radar (MPR).

The Liupanshui carries one Z-9C Helicopter which is a licensed copy of the AS365 Dauphin. It has a KLC-1 X-band MPR which can detect Ships up to 140 km away. The Z-9C can be also armed with light, short range Anti-Ship missiles like the TL-10 which has a warhead weight of 30 kg and a maximum range of 15 km.²³

’Decoy and EW Systems’
Both Ships have Chaff Decoy Launchers which are important since they can disrupt the operation of SSRs, FCRs and Missile Radars. The Yap uses the Protean launchers while the Liupanshui uses an unnamed system.

As I mentioned earlier, the Yap as per some sources are supposed to have the MATILDA RWR along with the ULQ-12K ESM which were unfortunately removed during the Ship's transfer. They turned out to be quite important also because they allow the automation of the release of the Chaff Decoys.²⁴

The way they are supposed to work is that they can be set to automatically launch the Chaff once an FCR and/or Missile Radar is detected. Without them, the Decoys can only be probably released manually, which is less efficient at disrupting the FCRs or Missile Radar.

The Chaff Decoys don’t last very long once deployed and the ship only has a limited number of them stored before they need to be reloaded, hence they need to be released at just the right time.

The Liupanshui on the other hand has the Type 826 ESM and RWR, allowing it to likely automate its Decoy launching system.

’Jammers’
The Liupanshui has a Type 984 I-band Jammer and another E/F-band Jammer in the Type 985. These Jammers will affect the Yap’s SPS-64 Surface Search Radar (SSR) which work on the E/F band, but not on the Yap’s FCRs which can operate also on the J and K-bands.

The Yap on the other hand does not have a Jammer on board as an added layer of defense against Radars from enemy Ships and Missiles. Overall in terms of EW, the Liupanshui has a clear advantage since it has a complete EW Suite with its ESM, RWR, automated Decoy System and Jammers.

The Yap on the other hand only has a degraded EW capability, with no ESM, no RWR, no Jammer and likely just manual Decoy Launching System. This means it will have to rely mainly on its cannons for defense.

’Torpedoes’
Both Ships have Triple Launchers for 324 mm diameter Light Weight Torpedoes (LWT), but these seem to be for use only against Submarines and not Surface Vessels, if so they will not be a factor in a confrontation between the two Vessels.

’Liupanshui’s Best Scenario’
When going head to head against the BRP Yap, the best scenario for the Liupanshui would probably be for the battle to start at OTH distance so the Yap won’t even be able to see or detect it with Radar. That way the Yap won’t be able to chase after it or close the distance.

The Liupanshui can send its Z-9C Helicopter up to find and determine the location of the Yap. The Yap may be able to detect it with its own radar once the Z-9C is at a high enough altitude, but with a degraded EW capability, it won’t be able to know if the Z-9C’s radar had already detected it.

Once the Z-9C determines the Yap's location, it can then relay this for use by the Liupanshui's YJ-83 missiles. Once the missiles are launched, the only way the Yap can detect them by radar is if they are close enough since they have relatively small radar signatures.

Despite not having any SAMs, the Yap’s many Guns I think will give it a fair chance against the YJ-83, especially if it is coming in from some distance since this will give the Yap more time to detect, track and shoot them down.

Also Oto Melara, the manufacturer of the Yap’s TF40 guns, claims that the T40 can shoot down a supersonic missile flying in a straight line as far as 3 km away, and the YJ-83 is only subsonic.

The Liupanshui also has the option of sending its Z-9C helicopter armed with TL-10 missiles against the Yap, but the short range of its TL-10 missiles will bring it to within the theoretical range of the Yap’s guns, hence the risk might not be worth it.

In this scenario, I think the worst case would be a slight advantage for the Liupanshui because even if none of its YJ-83 missiles hit the Yap, the Yap still won’t be able to launch any kind of counterattack on it.

Best case would probably be if one or more of its YJ-83 missiles hits the Yap causing heavy damage and eventually sinking it.

’BRP Yap’s Best Scenario’
The best scenario for the BRP Yap I think would be for the battle to begin at a close distance where the Liupanshui will be at the range of its Main and Secondary Guns, especially with its fast firing TF40 Guns.

The TF40 has a maximum range of around 12 km, but its Effective Range or range where it can still be considered accurate enough is much shorter, only around 4 km.

The Yap will also have to worry about the Liupanshui's Z-9C Helicopter and its TL-10 missiles, but it can assign one of its guns against it and a Helicopter is a relatively slow moving aircraft and thus an easier aerial target to deal with.

The Liupanshui can disrupt with Yap’s FCRs with its Decoys, but the Yap can use the EO function of its LIROD instead. The closer the Yap can get to the Liupanshui, the better since it will make its guns more accurate, and it has more Guns which are more powerful than that of the Liupanshui.

The best case I think for the Yap would be for it to shoot down the Z-9C and pepper the Liupanshui with enough rounds to take out its vital systems like Sensors, Launchers, etc. before either can fire their missiles. Remember that it's guns can shoot a combined rate of fire of 32 rounds every second.

Worst case would probably be if the Liupanshui and the Z-9C are able to launch their missiles before both are destroyed by the Yap’s Guns. With the Yap's degraded EW system, the better chances for the missiles to hit and cause damage on the Yap also.

’Parting Shot’
The Crew of the BRP Yap said that they saw the FCR of the Liupanshui point at their direction. Now the FCR is a relatively small object, so if they saw it with their naked eye then the Liupanshui must have been very close, probably a couple of hundred meters at most.

If they saw it using the LIROD or by some other optical instrument like Binoculars, then it would’ve been a bit farther out, probably a couple of kilometers or so. The relatively close distance of the ship would still be what I think is the best scenario for the Yap, meaning it likely had the advantage then.

No details were given by the PN on how the Yap responded back to the threat, but I think the PN should establish a protocol on how their ships should act in such situations, if they haven’t done so already.

In the long run, I think the Navy should restore the full EW capability of the Yap to give it the best chance of fighting threats from hostile vessels. Being one of the most powerful ships of the PN, it is expected to be in the frontlines against other naval vessels.

Also being in the frontlines is one reason why the Yap has had a pretty adventurous career so far despite only being new in the PN’s service. Last year (2019) it reportedly detected an enemy Submarine,²⁵ the first time in a long while that the PN was able to do so again.

And then of course recently its encounter with the Liupanshui. With the entry of more capable ships into the PN inventory like the Jose Rizal class Frigates, then it is possible that we will see more encounters like this to happen.

The Liupanshui (514), a Type 056 Jiangdao class Corvette of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Original Photo from the Zhuanlan Website

SOURCES:

1. Philippines protests China’s Sea claim, Weapon pointing
2. Wescom says Chinese Warship readied Guns vs PH Navy Ship in PH Territory 
3. Pohang Corvettes (1984-1993) at Navypedia 
4. MATILDA at Forecast International 
5. Ulsan Class at Forecast International 
6. Chinese target-locked MSDF Ship, Chopper 
7. Chinese and Japanese Fighters clash over East China Sea 
8. Japan lashes out at S. Korean Naval Vessel Target Radar locking onto Japanese Patrol Plane in East Sea 
9. Type 347G (Rice Bowl) Fire-Control Radar 
10. Smarter (and Simpler) Radar in Harpoon 
11. LIROD at Radartutorial 
12. LOOK: PH Navy’s ‘most powerful Ship’ BRP Conrado Yap arrives at last 
13. PH Navy commissions first modern Corvette into Fleet 
14. Chinese Navy commissions Sub Killer Stealth Warship for service in South China Sea 
15. China Builds its last and final Type 056 Corvette 
16. 76 mm/62 (3") Compact at the Navweaps Website 
17. 76 mm/60 (3") AK-176 at the Navweaps Website 
18. 76mm H/PJ26 at the Weapon Systems Website 
19. China’s Eagle Strike Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles 
20. HHQ-10 at the Military Today Website 
21. Here's All That's Left Of Iranian Navy Ship Struck By Missile In Friendly Fire Tragedy (Updated) 
22. Radar Detection and the Horizon Distance 
23. Advances in PLA-N Carrier Aviation 
24. Ulsan Class at Forecast International … 
25. BRP Conrado Yap detects US Submarine off Palawan