On January 8, the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China released the advanced deeds of the Navy’s Nanchang ship, awarding them the title of “Model of the Times.”
Xinhua News Agency introduced in an article that the Nanchang ship of the Navy was commissioned in January 2020, with the hull number 101. It is the first ship of the domestically developed Type 055 missile destroyer and is a typical representative of the Navy’s new and high-quality combat force.
Military analyst Song Zhongping commented that the Type 055 destroyer has a displacement of over 10,000 tons, outstanding information perception capabilities, weapon systems, and maneuverability. “The overall combat performance of the Type 055 destroyer is world-class, with several tactical indicators leading globally, truly making it the ‘strongest destroyer’ in service.”
The Liberation Army Daily reported that since its commissioning, the Nanchang ship has participated in more than 10 major tasks related to aircraft carrier battle group readiness training, achieving several firsts in the history of the People’s Navy. It was commended as the “model unit for implementing the goal of building a strong military” and received a second-class merit.
Recently, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, and the Liberation Army Daily successively published articles focusing on the advanced deeds of the Nanchang ship.
Relevant reports revealed details for the first time of the Nanchang ship’s strategic and intellectual competition with opponents during mission execution:
One day in 2021, in the early hours of the morning in a certain area of the western Pacific, during the Nanchang ship’s first participation in distant sea training tasks as part of the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group, two foreign warships sailing in the surrounding waters suddenly changed course, attempting to cross the Chinese Navy’s ship formation. Faced with the tense situation, the Nanchang ship’s party committee led the officers and soldiers to quickly adopt countermeasures, making the foreign ships retreat and abandon their attempt to pass through the formation.
In 2022, in the western Pacific, the Nanchang ship, acting as the “sentry” for the aircraft carrier battle group, independently sailed nearly a hundred nautical miles, undertaking situational search tasks. The foreign aircraft carrier’s aircraft frequently took off and landed, putting great pressure on the officers and soldiers’ emergency response capabilities. The Nanchang ship’s party committee led the entire ship’s officers and soldiers to calmly respond, refining their real combat capabilities.
During a navigation through a certain strait, the Nanchang ship strengthened vigilance against potential underwater threats. That night, they detected anomalies among numerous sonar echoes. After careful analysis and judgment, they promptly reported to the fleet command center, successfully dealing with the sudden situation and receiving commendation from the fleet.
In a realistic deployment and training task as part of the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group, the Nanchang ship, as a subordinate ship, faced provocations from foreign adversaries. During continuous confrontation, the entire ship’s officers and soldiers maintained a combat-ready state for more than 20 days. “When foreign aircraft gradually approached, our early warning and detection equipment tracked them throughout, providing a strong and effective response to the foreign provocation.”
CCTV summarized in an article, stating that as part of the Chinese Navy, the Nanchang ship neither seeks trouble nor fears trouble, using “enemies” in the distant seas for training, engaging in strategic and intellectual competition with opponents. This expands the depth of defense, ensures maneuvering space, and effectively fulfills the sacred duty of “armed escort” for the aircraft carrier battle group.
Global Times quoted military expert Zhang Junshe’s analysis, stating that the details of the Nanchang ship training against “enemies” reveal that during the deployment of the Chinese Navy’s distant sea formations, facing “enemy situations” has become normal. At the same time, the command system of China’s aircraft carrier battle group has become very mature.
Zhang Junshe said: “Facing the threat of foreign ship and aircraft attacks, the radar, artillery, and missile systems of the Nanchang ship entered combat status. Through such realistic training, the ability of the Chinese Navy to quickly deal with unexpected situations in distant seas can be improved. At the same time, the strong combat power of the Nanchang ship also ensures the safety of our aircraft carrier battle group, making foreign aircraft carrier battle groups feel direct pressure.”
In addition, Song Zhongping also concluded that the Nanchang ship is the first ship of the Type 055 destroyer, tasked with verifying and exploring tactical methods, serving as a valuable experience accumulation for the Navy during its mission execution. It also provides a template for the formation of combat capabilities for subsequent similar ships. “The outstanding performance of the Nanchang ship in multiple missions not only defended the safety of China’s aircraft carrier battle group, demonstrating the military might of the Chinese Navy, but more importantly, it verified the capabilities and boundaries of the Type 055 destroyer, exploring space for subsequent improvement and enhancement.”
The Liberation Army Daily published the story of the Nanchang ship on January 8. The article quoted the consensus of the Nanchang ship’s party committee: “To measure the combat power of a warship, it is not only about how many missiles it can carry but also about its contribution rate to the combat system. Although the Nanchang ship is highly modernized, modern warfare is not a competition between individual ships but a comprehensive comparison of combat systems.”
Song Zhongping interpreted that detached from the combat system, the role played by individual weapon platforms, no matter how advanced, is limited. On the contrary, if the performance of each weapon platform is mediocre, the combat system formed in this way cannot form a high-quality combat capability. “The joint combat system created by the People’s Liberation Army relies on advanced weapon platforms like the Type 055 destroyer as nodes. At the same time, advanced equipment like the Type 055 destroyer can only fully exert its combat power when integrated into the joint combat system.”
