Ten New Destroyers Built in China in 2019: Unprecedented Pace of Fleet Expansion Sets Beijing Up for Global Primacy at Sea

Breaking their own record set the previous year, 2019 saw Chinese shipyards launch over 150,000 tons of surface warships - the vast majority of which were intended for service in the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Foremost among these were a single Type 075 Class carrier, a 35-40,000 ton ship comparable to the U.S. Navy’s America Class platforms, and ten heavy destroyers. Additions to the Chinese destroyer fleet included eight Type 052D Class ships and two larger Type 055 Class ships, which displace 7,500 tons and 13,000 tons respectively. To put this in perspective, the entire Russian, French and British destroyer fleets are comprised of just 13, 12 and 6 destroyers respectively, while the U.S. Navy fields under 70. Even without considering planned cuts to the American fleet, the unprecedented rate of Chinese naval expansion will provide it with the largest destroyer fleet in the world by 2025. The Chinese carrier fleet meanwhile will displace an estimated 430,000 tons by this time with seven carriers either in service or under sea trials.

The expansion of China’s destroyer fleet has been central to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) naval modernisation efforts, far moreso than its carrier or submarine fleets. Improvements have been not only quantitative, but qualitative as well, going from the negligible capabilities of the first indigenous destroyer the Type 051B Class ship Shenzhen in service since 1999 to the capabilities of the new Type 055 Class ships - which are without equal in the world. Type 055 Class destroyers not only field some of the most powerful sensors on any warship, but they are also equipped with 112 vertical launch cells and have an unmatched four layered surface to air missile system complemented by close in weapons systems for air defence. The warship is far from a specialised air defence destroyer however, and fields unrivalled anti ship capabilities including YJ-18 and YJ-100 cruise missiles - with ranges of 540km and over 1000km respectively the former which can impact targets at Mach 3 speeds. The YJ-18 in particular was considered the most capable in the world in its anti ship capabilities due to its combination of speed and range, and this was only eclipsed by the Russian Zicron missile which entered service in December 2019. The PLA is set to integrate a missile comparable to the Zicron onto its own Type 055 and Type 052D Class destroyers in the early 2020s, which are being developed under the YJ-XX program. These missiles are reportedly set to field similar capabilities to the Russian Zicron, including hypersonic speeds of around Mach 9 and ranges exceeding 1000km, and technology transfers from Russia are widely expected to assist this program.

All of China's new destroyers have been built in just two major shipyards, the Dalian Shipyard which over the year launched one Type 055 Class and three Type 052D Class ships, and the Jingnan Shipyard which launched the remaining five Type 052D and single Type 055 Class ships. The PLA is expected to commission 17 Type 052D Class and 8 Type 055 Class ships before moving on to other more advanced types of destroyer.

Other surface warships completed in Chinese shipyards in 2019 include 16 Type 056A Class corvettes and a single Type 071 Class amphibious transport dock, displacing 1,500 tons and 25,000 tons respectively. These ships play a far less central role to the PLA’s Naval modernisation plans strategy, and unlike the destroyers and carriers they have been offered for export where they are prized for their advanced capabilities and cost effectiveness. Type Type 056A Class was designed for short ranged patrols, and is equipped with 12 vertical launch cells deploying the older and lighter YJ-83 anti ship cruise missiles and the FL-3000N short ranged surface to air missiles. The output of Chinese shipyards is likely to continue to increase throughout the early 2020s, putting growing pressure on the Navy to train the necessary crews in time. This tonnage will only grow as the first Type 002 Class supercarriers are launched, displacing an estimated 85,000 tons each, and as a successor to the Type 055 Class begins construction - which is expected to be a cruiser displacing over 15,000 tons.