China’s Type 055 ‘Super Destroyer’ Program Entering New Phase in 2026

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy is expected to begin commissioning Type 055 class destroyers from the second batch of production into service in 2026, marking a major new phase in one of the most ambitious surface warship programs seen anywhere in the world since the Cold War. The first Type 055 class destroyer, the Nanchang, was commissioned into service on January 12, 2020, while the last of eight ships in the first production batch was launched on August 30 that year. This eighth ship, the Xianyang was commissioned into service in April 2023. Reports from early 2022 indicated that production of further ships of the class were planned, with this subsequently having been confirmed, although the total number remains uncertain.

China is the only country which is producing multiple types of destroyer simultaneously, with the Type 055 being produced as a heavier counterpart to the lighter Type 052D class of which over 30 are currently in service, and of which seven have been launched in 2025 alone. Production of both destroyer classes in parallel has allowed total Chinese destroyer production to at times reach 10 ships per year, as was the case in 2019. In May 2024 reports indicated that the tenth Type 055 class destroyer had been launched, with analysts citing new commercial satellite imagery of the Dalian Shipyard and the Shanghai-based Jiangnan Shipyard, which launched the tenth and ninth ships respectively.

Type 055 destroyers from the second production batch are speculated to have integrated new turbo-generators, which were reportedly developed by the 704 Research Institute of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, and provide significantly greater power levels. A further improvement is their armaments, with Chinese state media outlets in December 2025 having for the first time published live footage of a YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile in flight following its launch from Type 055 class destroyer Wuxi. The YJ-20 was first confirmed to have begun flight testing at sea in April 2022, and has provided a revolutionary improvement to the Type 055 class’s already world leading firepower providing a very distinct advantage over rival U.S., Russian , Japanese and South Korean destroyer classes.

The Type 055 class gained considerable publicity in 2025, both for its deployment for shows of force near Australia in February 2025, and in December for its deployment alongside two smaller Type 052D class destroyers to escort the aircraft carrier Liaoning for operations near Japanese waters. The outcome of wargames published in February showed then when operating with support from unmanned missile boats, a singe Type 055 class destroyer was expected to be able to neutralise eight U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke class destroyers in an engagement. Carrying 112 vertical launch cells for cruise and surface-to-air missiles, they are among the largest and most heavily armed surface combatants in the world, and integrate a dual band radar system similar to the SPY-3/SPY-4, which the U.S. Navy had intended but failed to integrate onto the Zumwalt class destroyer. This provides a particularly high degree of situational awareness, including over-the-horizon detection capabilities.