China's Navy Commissions the World’s Most Powerful Destroyer Into Service: A Look at the Type 055 Class Warship Nanchang

China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy has commissioned its first Type 055 Class destroyer, the Nanchang, into active service. The commissioning ceremony took place at Qingdao Naval Base on January 12th - over two and a half years after the ship was launched in June 2017. The Nanchang is one of six Type 055 Class destroyers which have been launched - three from the Jiangnan Shipyard and three from the Dalian Shipyard, with the remaining five currently undergoing trials and being fitted out. The Type 055 Class is considered the most powerful destroyer in service anywhere in the world, and combines state of the art sensors, electronics and munitions with a massive armament. The warship displaces 13,000 tons fully loaded, and each carries 112 vertical launch cells for cruise and surface to air missiles. Smaller DK-10A surface to air missiles can be quad packed, allowing for a payload exceeding 112 missiles.

The Type 055 Class deploys a range of anti ship cruise missiles and air defence systems which are second to none. These include the YJ-18 and YJ-100, which have ranges of 550km and 1000km respectively - the former which can impact enemy warships at speeds of Mach 3. The warships deploy a four layered surface to air missile network HHQ-9, HHQ-16, HHQ-10 and DK-10A - which combined with the ship’s close in weapons systems provide an unrivalled degree of protection against enemy air and missile attacks. The Type 055’s sensor suite is also among the world's most sophisticated, with the H/LJG-346A 'Dragon Eye’ active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar in particular providing excellent situational awareness. The warships are also highly capable in anti submarine and land attack roles, and are expected to play a central role in the PLA’s carrier strike groups once these are fully operational. The Type 055 Class ships are being launched at a rate of 2-3 per year, and new technologies continue to be researched for integration onto the design including electromagnetic railguns, anti satellite missiles, and a new class of anti ship cruise missile, the YJ-XX, with capabilities comparable to the Russian Zicron.