China's 055 formation rarely appears in the US exclusive economic zone, and the US move is thought-provoking
Recently, the US Coast Guard released news of four PLA warships, including a Type 055 destroyer, appearing in the waters near the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, and released footage of the scene. However, the US later deleted the webpage containing the news and images.
The US patrol ships track and monitor the People's Liberation Army fleet. Image source: United States Coast Guard
According to the 17th district of the US Coast Guard, on August 29th and 30th local time, a formation of four Chinese Navy warships appeared in the international waters off the coast of Alaska, which belongs to the "US Exclusive Economic Zone". The US Coast Guard patrol ships "Basov" and "Kimball" tracked and monitored the four Chinese Navy warships, and the two sides communicated in accordance with international regulations. The US Coast Guard also stated that the actions of the Chinese warship were safe and professional.
The US Coast Guard stated that the four Chinese warships are a "missile cruiser," a missile destroyer, an intelligence ship, and a supply ship. But from the publicly available images from the US, only one Type 055 destroyer, one supply ship, and one Type 052D destroyer can be seen, without any images of intelligence ships.
At present, the relevant news and pictures have been deleted by the US side on their ownBut for some unknown reason, the US Coast Guard subsequently deleted the news and pictures of the PLA fleet appearing in the waters near Alaska. In April of this year, the US Navy released news and pictures of the US missile destroyer "Mastin" encountering the Chinese Navy's Liaoning ship in the Philippine Sea, but later deleted the relevant news and pictures on its own.It is worth mentioning that the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force discovered on August 24th that a People's Liberation Army fleet consisting of the 055 destroyer Nanchang, the 052D destroyer Guiyang, one 903 supply ship, and one 815 intelligence collection ship had crossed the Soya Strait.The Type 055 destroyer (NATO codename: Renhai class) is a new type of fleet air defense destroyer developed by China.On the morning of August 24, 2018, China's first Type 055 missile destroyer left the dock of Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai for its first sea test.On April 23, 2019, during the naval parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Navy, the 055 missile destroyer "Nanchang" was reviewed. On January 12, 2020, Guijian was put into service with a hull number of 101.In March 2021, at a military port in Qingdao, the second Type 055 10000 ton destroyer equipped by the Chinese Navy, the Lhasa ship, was officially unveiled; On March 2nd, it was officially put into service with a hull number of 102. On April 23, 2021, the Dalian Ship of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy was handed over and listed at a military port in Sanya, Hainan.In the aircraft carrier battle group, the Type 055 destroyer undertakes formation air defense, anti-ship, anti submarine, and land attack combat tasks. The 055 destroyer's combat system is equipped with advanced electronic weapons. Based on the positioning of the 055 destroyer's combat mission, a top-level design and layer by layer decomposition approach are adopted to optimize the rationality and integration of the architecture, integrating command and control. Realize complete sharing of standard information and universal benchmarks, miniaturization, generalization, integration, and standardization of devices. Under the highly integrated conditions of radar, electronic countermeasures, and communication antennas, the layout of cabin electronic equipment will be very concise, and the open universal interface display and control cabinet will bring convenience to subsequent upgrade work. Simplify the command hierarchy, reduce the number of battle positions, and alleviate the workload of operators in the combat process.Among destroyers of the same class worldwide, the Type 055 missile destroyer has the closest technical and tactical characteristics and performance parameters to the Arleigh Burke class missile destroyer. The Arleigh Burke class missile destroyer began construction in the late 1980s and has developed various models such as I/IA/II/IIA/III. Nearly 70 ships have been in service. According to the US Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan, the Arleigh Burke class missile destroyer will continue to be built until 2045, and its displacement will also increase from 8000 tons to over 10000 tons, with significant improvements in combat performance.Surface combat vessels need to be equipped with more advanced weapon systems and wireless electronic equipment, requiring greater displacement, interior space, and more powerful power units. At present, among the main missile destroyers in service in various countries around the world, the Arleigh Burke class III, British 45, South Korean KDX-III, Japanese Kong class, and Atago class all have a displacement of over or close to 10000 tons. Even new missile frigates from various countries, such as the British 26 class, Dutch seven province class, German F124 class, and F125 class, have a displacement of nearly 8000 tons.Compared with several types of missile destroyers currently in service in the Chinese Navy, the Type 055 missile destroyer has a larger displacement, interior space, and power plant, which also means it has greater potential for improvement and upgrading. To some extent, this is also the main factor determining the final number of Type 055 missile destroyers to be built.Recently, the continuous "free navigation" of US Navy ships in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait has caused dissatisfaction among China. Hu Xijin, the editor in chief of Global Times, previously stated that since the US Navy is coming to China's offshore waters, the Chinese Navy can also go to the US offshore waters. If the Type 055 destroyer formation does appear in the waters near the United States, it would be of great significance.After all, the Type 055 missile destroyer is China's first 10000 ton class destroyer, and its comprehensive combat performance surpasses all the Arleigh Burke class missile destroyers currently in service in the US military. For the first time in military technology, it rivals or even surpasses the US military. It seems that the deletion of photos of the Type 055 destroyer formation by the United States is clearly hiding something.
Source: Guoke Huanyu
