China showed off its newest warship, a large destroyer, which is considered as a challenge for Maritime rivals in Asia. The ship, dubbed class 055, represents a big step in military modernization of the country, said Chinese government websites.
"It is a symbol of the Navy to achieve the strategic development of the transformation" - written on the website of the Navy.
According to the web site of the US Navy destroyer with a capacity of 10 thousand tons fully developed in China, and it opens new horizons for the country in designing and building large naval vessels. Weapons are also new to the Chinese Navy. "The destroyer is equipped with new type of air defence, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine equipment," - said on the website.
Analysts say that a new ship is comparable in size with the latest destroyers, landed in the Asian waters of the United States, Japan and South Korea. The type 055 will weigh 13 tons when it was fully equipped with weapons systems and put into operation, making it the largest cruiser in the country. Type 055 also has hidden characteristics, according to the PLA including a small cross section of the radar and low noise, infrared and electromagnetic radiation.
Type 055 seems akin to the destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class U.S. Navy, which debuted in the 1980-ies and was carrying 96 missiles each, wrote military analyst Kyle Mizokami last year in Popular Mechanics. The type 055 will undergo "testing" as he prepares to join the fleet, said the Chinese web sites of the government, without specifying the date.
sections: Politics, World News |