Let's take a look at the picture below
Can you find out which country these three 10,000-ton drives came from?
The one on the left is a Chinese Type 055 missile ship, on the right is the next-generation main DDG (X) of the US Navy, and the guy on the right is the new generation "Aegis" destroyer ASEW of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Representing the latest level of the respective national navy!
Who is the real "first shield ship"?
CCTV publicly reported that the 055 destroyer is nearly 180 meters long, 22 meters wide, 44 meters high, with a standard displacement of 11,000 tons and a full load of 130,000 tons.
This guy is the first missile destroyer of the Chinese Navy with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons, and its role in China is a large air defense destroyer.
Unlike the 052D and other domestically produced destroyers, the Type 055 destroyer has the function of a combat intelligence center (CIC) and the command of the navy's ocean-going fleet.
Comparable to the "Ticonderoga-class" cruisers of the US military!
The U.S. military's next-generation DDG(X) destroyer has a full load displacement of 13,500 tons, a new vertical launch system, and an integrated mast and phased array radar similar to that of the 055 destroyer.
The United States has abandoned the technical route of the DDG-1000 destroyers, and the new DDG (X) will replace the earlier production of the Burke-class destroyers.
Let's take a look at our neighbors:
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has always followed the example of the US Navy in the development, construction and equipment of large surface warships, and has introduced the mature power and advanced systems of US destroyers. This effort began in the 90s of the last century, and by relying on Japan's industrial integration capabilities, three types of air defense destroyers "Kongo", "Atago" and "Maya" were launched one after another. The iterative development of these technologies is comparable to the development route of the US military from "Burke 1" to "Burke 2A".
However, with the Chinese Navy equipped with advanced 0.55 million ton large destroyers, Japan feels a sense of urgency. They urgently need to technologically surpass the Chinese 055 large destroyer Aegis air defense destroyer. To this end, Japan proposes to develop a new generation of "Aegis" destroyers that enhance air defense and anti-missile capabilities in the 2023 "Reiwa Five-Year Defense***". There are two options for this new destroyer:
One is to upgrade the hull of the 22DDH "Izumo-class" ** aircraft carrier. If this plan is realized, the tonnage will exceed 20,000 tons, setting a number of records in the history of global naval equipment. Adopting this scheme would make it the largest tonnage surface warship developed since the Cold War, far surpassing the lead destroyers of other naval powers and second only to the 1144 Kirov-class nuclear-powered cruisers of the former Soviet era.
For example, the U.S. Navy's Ticondero-class cruisers, despite their large tonnage, have a full load displacement of just over 9,000 tons. By comparison, Japan's new destroyer is almost twice the size of a U.S. cruiser, underscoring the ambitions of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force.
At that time, if the Kirov-class cruisers of the Russian Navy are decommissioned, the ASEW Aegis destroyers will become the leader in tonnage. There was some innovation in the design of traditional destroyers, and the hull of the "Maya class" was adopted, which created the image of a new generation of destroyers. At present, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force has abandoned the 20,000-ton "Aegis" destroyer plan, and under the new plan, the full load displacement of the ship will be close to 150,000 tons, even thousands of tons larger than the 055 destroyer of our army, becoming the largest tonnage among the destroyers in active service.
The advantage in tonnage directly improves the combat effectiveness of the ship, especially in the far-sea navigation performance and the loading capacity of the most advanced equipment. The configuration of 128 vertical launch units allows the ship to carry the Standard-6 long-range ship-to-air missiles for fleet air defense missions, as well as the Standard-3 anti-missile interceptor missiles for anti-missile missions. The abundance of launch units and the types of missiles that can be carried, coupled with the AN SPY-7 shipborne phased array radar, make this "Aegis" ship one of the top equipment in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, after all, it is a military treasure that Japan has invested a lot of resources to build.
Faced with such a strong equipment strength of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, how will the Chinese Navy, which has been equipped with a 0.55 million ton drive, respond to this challenge? Actually, there is no need to worry too much about it, because ......
First of all, the 0.55 million ton large destroyer has a completely different positioning from the newest Japanese destroyer. On the one hand, the 055 Daqi is focused on improving its attack capabilities, while Japan's destroyers are more focused on anti-missile defense.
The 0.55 million ton large destroyer plays an important role in the offensive equipment of the Chinese Navy, and its superior anti-ship capability is unique among the major naval warships in the world. Not only that, but it also has a strong ability to strike long-range anti-ship. The Chinese Navy can be equipped with a variety of land attacks** according to actual combat needs, including cruise missiles aimed at targets in depth for enemy territorial defense.
The emergence of the 055 drive has greatly improved the Chinese Navy's ability to encircle in battles. In comparison, the new Japanese destroyers cannot be compared. At present, Japan has only 3 "Aegis" destroyers and no more than 4 new ASEW destroyers, while China has already begun the construction of the second batch of 055 destroyers, which far exceeds Japan's. In the short term, the Chinese Navy is expected to have 16 055 large drives, while the Japanese Aegis destroyers have not yet been delivered and are not expected to be fully equipped until after 2030.
The 10,000-ton destroyers of the sea forces of China and Japan differed greatly in size and combat effectiveness.
Japan has long lacked strategic depth, and after World War II, Japan was constrained by the post-war order, which limited its ambitions. In contrast, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has at best played a supporting role with the US Navy, and has long lost its ambition to demonstrate its strength in Asian waters.
The comparison of China's 055 drive with Japan's ASEW "Aegis" destroyers directly reveals the actual gap in maritime power between China and Japan. This is not only a difference in the size of the ship, but also a huge difference in overall combat effectiveness and technical level. China's navy has gradually demonstrated its maritime prowess, while Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force pales in comparison.