China To Begin Building 12,000-ton 055 Large Missile Destroyer This Year

Guessed image of 055 destroyer

Since late 2012, Chinese military forums have begun their discussion of a new 055 missile destroyer. Sources reveal to top161.cn that the design of the destroyer has been completed. The destroyer will be of better stealth design with low noise, infrared and electromagnetic characteristics. It has the following characteristics:

• Tonnage: 12,000 tons fully loaded.
• Length: 183 m
• Beam: 22 m
• Propulsion: Eight of the destroyers will be installed with conventional propulsion and the other eight, with nuclear propulsion for nuclear aircraft carrier combat group
• Speed: 35 knots

Sensors and processing systems:

• New generation of multi-module active phased array radar with a range of 600 km able to monitor and control several hundred targets and automatically distribute targets to various combat units (including the destroyer itself and other combat units)
• A joint combat data distribution transmission system similar to the Link-16 of US Navy

Armament:

Its fire power will be 3 to 5 times greater than that of US Arleigh Burke class destroyer and 2 times greater than that of US Ticonderoga class cruiser

There will be four level of missile interception.

It will be armed with:

• One 155 mm gun that will later be replaced by an electromagnetic or laser gun
• Two 64VLS for surface to air missiles, cruise missiles, anti submarine missiles, anti ship missiles
• Each vertical launch tube of the 64VLS is 16 meters long and can be installed with one to eight missiles. The total number of missiles installed will be 128 to 1024.
• The surface to air missiles will be HongQi-10
• The anti ship missiles will be better than YJ-83 and YJ-62
• WHH004 launch device for new anti-submarine and anti-warship torpedoes
• Type 1130 11-barrel CIWS with the rate of fire exceeding 10,000 rounds per minute

There will be two new-type anti-submarine helicopters on the destroyer.

The source reveals that a Chinese aircraft carrier combat group will contain one carrier, two 055 destroyers, four 052D destroyers and four 054A frigates.

Sources: mil.huanqiu.com, bbs.creaders.net, top161.cn

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