China Deploys World’s Two Most Powerful Destroyers For First Combat Exercises

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy has deployed its two newly commissioned Type 055 class destroyers the Anqing and Dongguan for their first known combat training exercises. Following the commissioning of the eighth Type 055 class destroyer the Xianyang in April 2023, the Anqing and Dongguan in early March were confirmed to be the ninth and tenth ships of their class to enter service, and having been produced significantly later as part of a second batch of the ships, they benefit from a number of enhancements relative to their predecessors. The two vessels operate under the Eastern Theatre Command Navy, otherwise referred to as the East Sea Fleet, which is responsible for operations in the East China Sea facing U.S. and Japanese forces, while also bearing significant responsibility for contributing to possible operations in the Taiwan Strait. 

Type 055 class destroyers are among the largest and most heavily armed in the world, with each integrating 112 vertical launch cels which can accommodate a wide range of cruise and surface-to-air missiles, as well as the new YJ-20 anti-ship ballistic missile. The ships’ situational awareness is also near unrivalled, with each integrating 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. Such radars provide a particularly high degree of situational awareness, including over-the-horizon detection capabilities. Type 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. 

With the Type 055 class considered to have significant performance advantages over U.S. Navy destroyers in all areas other than ballistic missile defence, the U.S. Navy in January 2022 released details of a possible configuration for a next generation destroyer, which is currently being developed under the DDG(X) program. Cuts to the Zumwalt class stealth destroyer program from 32 to three ships, due to significant performance issues and cost overruns, has limited the U.S. Navy’s ability to keep up with Chinese advances. The age of the Arleigh Burke class destroyers the Navy currently relies on has limited their ability to continue receiving upgrades and enhancements, with the ship's basic design deficient in space, weight, and power by the standards of the 2020s. The Type 055 class destroyer program has been a primary factor stimulating interest in accelerating the development of the DDG(X).

Type 055 class destroyers have been involved in multiple exercises in the last three months, with footage released in late December providing a rare look at the launch of the type’s new primary anti-ship missile, the YJ-20, which significantly outperforms rival missile types carried by other surface combatants such as the Russian Zircon. In mid-January the Type 055 class destroyer Yan'an deployed as part of a naval task with the Type 075 class amphibious assault ship Hainan, which serves as a helicopter carrier, for multi-subject maritime training in the South China Sea. The exercises saw amphibious landings carried out from the Hainan under the cover of the Yan’an’s multi-layered air defences. 

Later in January the Type 055 class destroyer the Zunyi was deployed for free-form confrontational exercises targeting simulated adversaries in the South China Sea, which drew particular attention to the design’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Footage released by Chinese state media in mid-February showed the Type 055 class destroyer Lhasa operating alongside the older Type 051C class destroyer Shijiazhuang. This highlighted how the Type 055 could complement the capabilities of older destroyers using its more advanced destroyers, and how older ships optimised for air defence could in turn provide greater protection against saturation attacks. Chinese shipyards have sustained a destroyer production rate exceeding those of the next several countries combined, with the Navy commissioning seven new destroyers in 2025 alone, and at times commissioning as many as ten in a year. The U.S. Navy, by contrast, has commissioned destroyers at rates of around 1.6 per year. The combination of sophistication and scale in production has continued to rapidly shift the balance of power at sea.