Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Is China's Newest Navy Destroyer That Good?

The 10,000-ton-class surface warship, officially named the Nanchang, was commissioned to China's People's Liberation Army on January 12 this year in the eastern port city of Qingdao 


 * China's state media released details about Type 055 destroyer 'The Nanchang' 
 * The warship can reportedly counter stealth aircraft and low-Earth orbit satellites 
 * It is the country's biggest destroyer yet and went into service in January this year 
 * The news comes as political tensions between Beijing and self-ruled Taiwan soar 

Chinese navy's latest destroyer is capable of countering stealth aircraft and satellites, according to the country's state-run media. 

The domestically built Type 055 destroyer can reportedly spot and strike military aircraft designed to avoid radar detection. 

It can also track satellites circulating the Earth at an altitude of up to 500 kilometres (310 miles) and guide missiles to attack them, Beijing's military experts have suggested. 


WNU Editor: What a difference a few decades makes. When I was working in China in the 1980s the Chinese would always do army parades, air force shows, and naval displays to impress the foreign diplomatic corp. We were never impressed. Their army soldiers were poorly dressed. I regarded their pilots as suicidal to fly what they were flying. And I always wondered if their ships would break down and/or sink. No more now. I am always skeptical of Chinese propaganda when it comes to their military. But it is true that they have gone a long way in 30 years. I can only imagine (and fear) what the Chinese military will look like in another 30 years. In the meantime the Chinese Navy continues its build-up .... Two new guided missile destroyers enter Chinese naval service (Global Times).