A Look At China’s Type 055 Destroyer

The Chinese navy is the largest in the world in terms of number of vessels.
It is estimated that the navy has 41 destroyers across eight classes.
Its most powerful destroyer class, the Type 055 or Renhai, cost $920 million per unit to build.

China has the world’s largest navy, with more than 355 vessels in its fleet, according to a 2021 report by the United States Naval Institute.

Officers and soldiers of the Chinese naval fleet for escort mission line up on the deck at a port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 28, 2020. — Officers and soldiers of the Chinese naval fleet for escort mission line up on the deck at a port in Zhoushan, east China’s Zhejiang Province, April 28, 2020.Jiang Shan/Xinhua/Getty Images

The US, China’s primary rival, has the second-largest navy in the world, with 296 ships, per a 2022 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Though it is smaller than China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, the US Navy is still widely considered the most powerful in the world today given its presence, partnerships, experience, and technology.

China, though, is determined to build a world-class military able to fight and win wars. While China already has the lead in terms of navy size, it continues to expand its naval force. The Congressional Research Service predicts that the country’s fleet will grow to as many as 400 vessels by 2025 and 425 by 2030. And it is also investing heavily in improved combat capabilities for its ships.

China has been strengthening its navy over the past decade to bolster its military presence around Taiwan, according to a March report by The Japan Times. The report stated that “increasing capabilities of Chinese warships” like destroyers is crucial to the country’s military plans.

China relies on its growing navy to enforce its will and advance its national interests in the East China Sea, South China Sea, parts of the Western Pacific, and potentially farther as its force grows and improves.

The Chinese navy’s growing fleet of destroyers is comprised of 41 active ships, which belong to eight classes, according to a 2022 estimate by military data site Global Firepower.

In addition to China’s newest class, the Type 055, there are six other locally made active destroyer classes: Type 052A, Type 051B, Type 051C, Type 052B, Type 052C, and Type 052D(L), per a 2018 report by CRS. Only one class, the Type 956E(M), is foreign-made.

By NC ScoutPublished On: October 1, 2022Categories: UncategorizedComments Off

About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .