It is not an exaggeration to say that the strength of the Chinese Navy has advanced by leaps and bounds.
As the most advanced surface combat ship in the world, the 055 has confirmed that a total of 16 ships will be built and put into service in the future, and 10 055 have entered service with the Chinese Navy, which is a well-deserved main combat force of the Chinese Navy.
【055 Destroyer】
So what kind of level does these 10,000-ton drives put China at in the world?
055 ahead of the curve
At present, there are not many surface combat ships in the world with a full displacement of more than 10,000 tons, and they are basically in the hands of a few naval powers.
In addition to the 13000-ton 055 destroyer, there are
[055 Sewage]
Needless to say, even the US Navy itself admits that the project is rather a failure and completely does not fit into the realities of the current naval warfare of great powers.
The DDG-1000 is actually a very single-purpose combat ship, and its skills are almost entirely focused on land strikes, ignoring the needs of naval operations.
And because too many new technologies have been applied, resulting in production costs rising to a level that even the US Navy cannot afford, the DDG-1000 has now become an experimental ship for the US Navy and does not participate in actual combat.
【DDG-1000】
The Kirov-class nuclear-powered cruiser is the pride of the Soviet Red Navy and the legend of the Cold War military equipment research and development, and it is also the only nuclear-powered cruiser in the world that is still in service.
In fact, in terms of core concepts, the Kirov-class and 055 have similarities, both of which use the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier battle group as the main imaginary enemy, and both have anti-aircraft carrier capabilities.
However, compared with the technologically advanced 055, the Kirov class has not been modernized and upgraded for many years due to the funding and technical constraints of the Russian Navy, and its overall technical level is still 20 to 30 years behind 055.
【Kirov Class】
And because Russia has lost the ability to build large-tonnage surface ships, the Kirov class is now positioned like the only aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, symbolizing the most glorious history of the Soviet and Russian Navy.
The Glorious-class is the second largest cruiser in Soviet Russia after the Kirov-class, but the myth of the ship has been shattered in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva, is a Glorious-class, and with the support of NATO's intelligence system, the Ukrainian army sank the cruiser with a Neptune anti-ship missile.
【Moscow】
It can be seen that the Glorious-class and the Kirov-class are facing the same problem, their onboard equipment is too old, and there is at least a decades gap with advanced destroyers like 055, which is a hard wound that cannot be made up for by tonnage.
Compared with the useless United States and Russia, the Maya-class in the Sea of Japan and the King Sejong class of the South Korean Navy are considered to be one of the few large destroyers comparable to the 055.
Since both the Maya-class and King Sejong-class are Aegis ships developed on the basis of the American-made Burke ship, let's discuss them together.
In terms of technical level, both the Maya-class and the King Sejong-class have used the most advanced shipborne technology of this generation, and have strong regional air defense capabilities and shipborne strike capabilities.
【Maya Class】
However, due to the different national defense needs faced by Japan and South Korea, the focus of its destroyers is completely different from that of the 055, and Japan and South Korea are both the foundation of air defense destroyers, and their focus is on the air defense and anti-missile of destroyers.
And 055 does not have such harsh air defense needs, after all, the world's most advanced missile technology is in the hands of our military, 055 itself is also a shield ship, with strong regional air defense capabilities, has been able to fully meet the needs.
However, unlike Japanese and South Korean destroyers, the 055 has incomparable special strike capabilities against the sea, especially against aircraft carriers.
[055 (one in the rear)]
The large-caliber universal vertical hair carried by the 055 can be loaded with the ship-based version of the YJ-21 anti-ship ballistic missile, which is the unique equipment of Chinese destroyers.
As a result, the 055 has gained a unique anti-aircraft carrier strike capability, which is difficult for Japanese and South Korean destroyers to achieve.
China's naval strength
In fact, before you know it, the Chinese Navy is only one step away from having the world's largest fleet of advanced warships.
At present, the two most important destroyer models of our army are 055 and 052D, 055 plans to build 16 ships and currently has 10 ships in service, 052D plans to build 70 ships, and 35 ships have been built so far.
【Chinese Navy】
That is, the Chinese Navy currently has a total of 45 advanced destroyers at the world's top level.
The U.S. Navy, which used to be the world's largest navy, currently has a total of 64 Burke ships, including 21 Burke I/IA, 7 Burke II, 34 Burke IIA and 1 Burke III.
It seems that the U.S. Navy has a certain numerical advantage, but it is worth noting that all 21 Burke I/IA ships will be retired in the next two years, which means that the number of U.S. Burke ships will be reduced to 43, which is even 2 fewer than the Chinese Navy.
【Burke】
And 052D is equivalent to the technical level of Burke IIA, and 055 is even more comprehensive crushing Burke III, which means that the destroyers of the Chinese Navy are more advantageous in quantity and quality.
Not only that, but the Chinese Navy also has a more obvious incremental advantage, according to the U.S. Navy's assessment of China's shipbuilding strength, China's shipbuilding capacity is estimated to be 233 times that of the United States.
In terms of the production of a single ship, the United States expects the production rate of Burke III to be 1.5 ships a year, and the current production rate of 052D has reached 3 ships in 1 year, and there will be another 5 052D launches in the shipyard in June 2024.
【China Shipyard】
This also means that in the future, the gap in the number of destroyers between China and the United States will become wider and wider.
Especially considering that the Burke III has never solved the problem of excessive cost, it may be difficult to achieve large-scale installation, and the main force of the US Navy will still be an improved model based on the Burke IIA, so the Chinese Navy actually has the number one destroyer force.
Sources:
【1】Type 055 Destroyers．Deagel [引用日期2024-04-27]
[2] Xianyang, the 8th Type 055 destroyer of the Chinese Navy, is listed!.Beijing Daily client [Citation date:2023-04-21]