The Type 055 Isn’t the Only Chinese Destroyer America Fears; Newly Inducted Type 052D Warships Key to Facilitating Primacy at Sea

As part of what has been termed the fastest naval expansion program in world history, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy has launched its fourteenth Type 052D Class destroyer - a lighter complement to the more prolific Type 055 Class. First entering service in March 2014, the 7,500 ton Type 052D has largely been overshadowed by the development of the larger 13,000 ton Type 055, the first of which was launched just four years later in June 2017. While the Type 055 is considered by far the most capable destroyer warship in service anywhere in the world, robbing the lethal South Korean Sejong the Great Class of its title, the Type 052D can nevertheless comfortably claim third place for the time being - and though often overlooked due to the considerable attention its larger sister ship has gained, it nevertheless remains a highly formidable game changer for the balance of power at sea in China’s favour. 

With a considerable cruising speed range of 4,500 nautical miles, the Type 052D represents the beginning of China’s investment in blue water power projection capabilities - with previous destroyer classes and even the carrier Liaoning being heavily oriented towards a coastal defence role. The warship is among the most heavily armed in the world, with 88 launch cells - 64 of which capable of deploying a variety of air defence, anti ship and anti submarine munitions. The remaining 24 cells are reserved exclusively for HHQ-10 surface to air missiles, fielded to complement the capabilities of the HQ-16, HHQ-9 and DK-10A surface to air missiles in the other cells, which alongside H/PJ-12 close in weapons systems provide a highly sophisticated multi layered air defence system making the warship among the most survivable in the world against air and missile attacks. The Type 052D makes use of highly modern systems including H/LJG-346A ‘Dragon Eye’ AESA radars, YJ-18 anti ship cruise missiles - striking at three times the speed of sound with 300kg warheads, and CY-5 solid fuelled anti submarine rockets.

Among the first warships in the world to deploy a modular vertical launch systems (VLS), almost identical to that deployed by the Type 055, the Type 052D’s arsenal retains cold launch capabilities for improved safety. With surface to air and anti ship missiles considerably more sophisticated than those fielded by Western made warships such as the American Arleigh Burke Class, and with the United States Navy’s Zumwalt Class destroyer program having been terminated due to the design’s extremely poor performance, the Type 052D is likely to ensure a Chinese advantage in the capabilities of its surface fleet over those of rival powers in the Asia-Pacific - particularly when fielded alongside the Type 055. While more than capable of acting independently even when far from China’s coasts, the warships are set to be integrated into carrier strike groups alongside the Type 055 to meet the support needs for the PLA Navy’s fast growing carrier fleet. While Chinese naval aviation capabilities are considerably behind those of the United States Navy, lacking supercarriers comparable to the Nimitz or Gerald Ford Class or support systems comparable to the E-2 Hawkeye, C-2 Greyhound or EA-18G Growler, the superior capabilities of the Navy’s destroyers are set to heavily compensate for the relatively underwhelming capabilities of Chinese carriers to potentially allow the PLA to form carrier strike groups capable of rivalling those of the United States. This may well be an effective interim solution until Chinese carrier capabilities are capable of qualitatively matching their U.S. counterparts, which given the projected capabilities of the Type 003 Class supercarrier currently under construction and the aircraft currently being developed for its decks may well only be a matter of time.