According to a Nov. 6 report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) cited by Chinese media, a military expert says that now that China has the world’s largest navy, the entry of the new stealthy missile destroyer will significantly boost its combat power at sea. The Chinese navy is likely to officially receive the Yan’an ship in December, said the source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
In addition, the fifth Type 055 destroyer named Anshan is also ready to be commissioned in the first half of 2022, he said. The emblem of the Yan’an ship, with the number 106, and the Anshan ship, with the number 103, have been making the rounds on the Internet since the end of last month.
Another source close to the Chinese navy not only confirmed the timing of the two destroyers’ service, but also said the PLA intends to have more Type 055 destroyers in service in the next two years, while three more are currently under construction.
The Type 055 destroyer is a new type of fleet air defense destroyer developed by China, and on Oct. 14, China’s CCTV announced that the Type 055 destroyer has achieved air defense and anti-missile integration for the first time.
China’s first Type 055 destroyer Nanchang left the dock at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard on the morning of Aug. 24, 2018, for its first sea test. on April 23, 2019, the ship was paraded at sea during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Navy. On January 12, 2020, the Nanchang destroyer was commissioned into the Chinese Navy with the number 101.
The Type 055 destroyer has a full load displacement of over 13,000 tons, making it China’s largest destroyer in terms of tonnage.
Sidharth Kaushal, a naval researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British think tank, said in an October 2020 report that the Type 055 destroyer has more mass than the U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga-class cruisers, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kongo-class destroyers and Atago-class destroyers, such as improved stealth and more advanced sensor capabilities.