China's missile destroyers to guard aircraft carriers





WASHINGTON – China has launched four Type 055 guided-missile destroyers in the past 13 months and is building four more to meet its need for advanced warships. The as-yet unnamed aircraft carrier that would provide the primary offensive firepower for a battle unit concluded its maiden sea trials in May. Business Insider reports. Continue reading original article


While China's Type 055 destroyer raises comparisons with the U.S. Navy's Zumwalt class destroyer, the Chinese vessel still lags its U.S. counterpart in important ways. The Zumwalt is the world's most technologically advanced destroyer, with 15,000 dominant tonnes of displacement.

Type 055 destroyers will probably play a role similar to that of U.S. Ticonderoga class cruisers and Arleigh Burke class destroyers, even though the Chinese ship is larger than both of the U.S. vessels, which have displacements of fewer than 10,000 tonnes.

Type 055's radar, electronic and missile system also uses newer technology than the two U.S. warships, which were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. Type 055 also has been compared to other warships deployed in the region, notably South Korea's Sejong the Great class (DDG-991) and Japan's Atago class and its newly launched Maya subclass.
militaryaerospace.com