Type 055 Destroyer

Type-055-warship

Type-055-warship

The Type 055 Destroyer a Chinese stealth guided-missile destroyer. Also called Renhai-class cruise (NATO/OSD designation Renhai-class cruiser). It has a multi-mission design, a combination of sensors and weapons that provide a critical role in area air defense, with anti-submarine warfare capabilities. 

The Type 055 is considered one of the most advanced and powerful warships in China's fleet, capable of blue-water expeditionary missions and serving as the primary escort for Chinese aircraft carriers

Preview

• Developers
• Changxingdao-Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai, and
• Dalian Shipyard, Liaoning Operators 
• People's Liberation Army Navy
• Cost CN¥6 billion (US$888 million) per unit including R&D (FY 2017)
• Type       
• Type 055 Guided-missile destroyer 
• Renhai-class Guided-missile cruiser (per NATO)

Specifications

• Displacement :  11,000 tonnes (standard) & 12–13,000 tonnes (full load)
• Length :      180 m (590 ft 7 in)
  
• Beam :       20 m (65 ft 7 in)
  
• Draught :  6.6 m (21 ft 8 in)
• Installed power : 6 × QD-50 (6,700hp) turbine generators (5 MW each) 
• Propulsion COGAG4 × QC-280 gas turbines (28 MW (38,000 hp) each) 
• Speed 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
• Range 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) 

• Type-055-radar

  Sensors 
• Type 346B Dragon Eye (C/S-band) radar, 
• X-band radar Electronic warfare & decoys
  
• Electronic warfare system

1. Type 726-4 decoy launcher

Armament

1. 1 × 130 mm H/PJ-45 gun
2. 1 × 30 mm H/PJ-11 CIWS
3. 1 × 24-cell HHQ-10 short range surface-to-air missile launcher
4. 112 GJB 5860-2006 VLS cells
5. HHQ-9 long range surface-to-air missiles
6. YJ-18A anti-ship missiles
7. YJ-21 anti-ship ballistic missiles
8. CJ-10 land-attack cruise missile

Anti-submarine missiles

1. 2 × sets of 324mm torpedo tubes
2. Yu-7 torpedoes

Aircraft carried

2 medium-lift helicopters

1. Harbin Z-9
2. Changhe Z-18
3. Harbin Z-20

Type 055 destroyer

The Type 055 destroyer has a relatively recent operational history, as it entered service in January 2020. 

• First Ship: The first Type 055 destroyer, Nanchang, was launched in 2017 and commissioned in 2020.

• Additional Ships: Between 2017 and 2020, a total of eight Type 055 destroyers were built at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai and Dalian Shipyard in Liaoning. By 2022, six of these ships were commissioned, with the remaining two expected to join the fleet by 2023.

• Operational Role: These destroyers are designed for multi-mission roles, including air defense, anti-submarine warfare, and surface warfare. They are also expected to serve as the primary escort for Chinese aircraft carriers

• Deployment: The Type 055 destroyers have been actively deployed in the South China Sea and the Western Pacific, showcasing China's growing naval capabilities.

The Type 055 destroyers represent a significant step in China's efforts to build a blue-water navy capable of sustained operations across open oceans.

Type 055 takes on blue-water mission and forms an initial escort for Chinese aircraft carriers. The United States classifies these ships as cruisers because the United States Navy (USN) defines a cruiser as a large multi-mission surface combatant with flag facilities; it suggests that the US expects Type 055 to perform a role similar to that of the USN's Ticonderoga-class cruisers.