Type 025-class torpedo boat

The Type 025 class torpedo boat is also known as Huchuan or Hu Chwan class, and it was once the backbone of the People's Liberation Army Navy in its confrontations with their much larger opponents in the Republic of China Navy. Although no longer serving as the frontline workhorse, this class is still quite active today. This unsophisticated class has a surprising longevity in the active service thanks to the particular philosophy within the People's Liberation Army Navy from which this class has benefited.

Operational doctrine
In an era of the increasingly effective countermeasures against anti-ship missiles, the countermeasures against torpedoes are relatively few and less effective in comparison, so although ineffective in open waters, torpedo boats can still play a role in the coastal defense with sufficient protection, utilizing its stealthiness and high speed for surprise attacks on the ambushed enemy from their hideouts, such as caves, if these boats are integrated into an overall system that includes the supporting C4ISR structure such as those from shore, aircraft, and larger ships. As a result of this philosophy, the production of Type 025 class torpedo boats lasted well into the 1990s, despite the fact that the retirement of early units of this class had already begun in the mid 1980s.

Variants
This class was originally designed to solve the problem of Soviet torpedo boats in Chinese inventory: the P 4 class torpedo boat (Type K-123) was lightly armed, and thus did not have sufficient self-defense firepower in retreats after torpedoes are launched. The P 6 class torpedo boat (Type K-183) had enough guns for self-defense, but the wooden hull was prone to fire after being hit. As a result, Type 025 was developed to utilize the advantage of both classes by adopting the metallic hull of the P 4 class and stronger self-defense armament of the P 6 class. There are several versions of Type 025 class torpedo boats which mainly differed in their secondary armament. For example, some had extra guns in addition to the standard 14.5 mm heavy machine guns, while others had the capability to carry and lay two additional mines. Due to the different the weapons carried, the complement various from 11 to 16. Structurally, some of the hulls have an additional pair of small hydrofoil near the bow, yet others do not have hydrofoils at all. Most guns are aft but some one forward and one aft. Although small batch orders continued into the 1990s, the production had completely stopped by the early 2000s.

Electronics
1 Soviet Skin Head or Chinese Type 753 navigational radar (I-band)