New homegrown destroyer goes into duty
Print Edition
CHINA’S first Type 055 guided-missile destroyer, the Nanchang, was commissioned into the People’s Liberation Army Navy yesterday in Qingdao, eastern China’s Shandong Province.
The warship is viewed by many as a symbol of the Chinese Navy’s development, signaling that China’s destroyers have evolved to the fourth generation.
Fully designed by Chinese engineers, the 10,000-ton class warship is equipped with anti-air, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons.
It was built in 2017 and first demonstrated in April 2019.
The commissioning of the Nanchang marks the Navy’s leap from the third generation to the fourth generation of destroyers.
The design of Type 055 was finalized after two decades of rapid development and tests. As a front line vessel in the PLA surface fleet and carrier group over the next 20 years, the warships are dedicated to protecting the interest and enforcing the strategy of China in the Western Pacific and the open sea.
The type 055 is focused on surface combat as one of the most powerful vessels in the world.
In the 1970s, China initiated the development of Type 055 destroyers, which was then suspended due to a shortage of funds and technologies. Since then, Type 055 has been seen as the symbol that Chinese naval and defense technology would catch up with and surpass world levels. During the past 20 years, the shipbuilding and defense industry of China has developed substantially.
It’s not the first time for the PLA Navy to name a warship after the city of Nanchang. The old Nanchang was a Type 051D missile destroyer built in 1977 and commissioned in 1982. The ship was retired in September 2016 and then used by the city of Nanchang as a museum.
In its 34 years of service, the old Nanchang sailed more than 170,000 nautical miles and participated in more than 80 missions including patrols, training and drills.
The hull number of the new Nanchang destroyer, 101, was also used before. The old 101 was the Anshan, the PLA’s first destroyer. Bought from Russia in the 1950s, the Anshan served for 38 years before going to the Qingdao Navy Museum.
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