The Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China commissioned another guided missile destroyer, the Tongchuan, which became the 35th ship of the Type-052D class. As Navy Recognition notes, Beijing is expanding its fleet of destroyers at a pace that the United States currently finds it difficult to match.
The Tongchuan destroyer, which is part of the 9th destroyer flotilla of the South China Navy of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China, strengthens Beijing's capabilities to provide air defense, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface targets and long-range strikes in one of the most strategically important waters in the world. The commissioning took place amid ongoing warnings from U.S. military officials that China's shipbuilding industry is becoming a key advantage for Beijing in a potential high-intensity conflict with the United States.
The Destroyer Tongchuan, China
China MoD
The new warship is made in an improved modification "Type-052DL". In this version, the hull was lengthened by about 4 meters to 162 meters, which made it possible to increase the flight deck for the Harbin Z–20F helicopter, which has a longer flight range, endurance, detection and anti-submarine warfare capabilities than the smaller Z-9 used on earlier Chinese destroyers.
"Since the commissioning of the first Type-052D destroyer in 2014, China has adopted about 35 ships of this class, while also receiving eight large Type-055 destroyers," Navy Recognition points out. "In just over a decade, Beijing has transformed what was once a predominantly regional fleet into a force with one of the world's largest concentrations of modern guided missile destroyers."
The capacities of Chinese shipbuilders stand in stark contrast to those of their counterparts in the United States. During the same period, when China commissioned about 35 Type-052D destroyers, the American fleet increased by about 18-20 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
"In Washington, this discrepancy is increasingly seen as a strategic problem," the publication states. – Recent Pentagon assessments and congressional hearings have repeatedly highlighted China's overwhelming advantage in shipbuilding. According to representatives of the US Department of Defense, Chinese shipyards have significantly greater production capacities than their American counterparts, which allows Beijing to transform its industrial base into the combat power of the navy at a pace unattainable for any other state.
The Type-052D destroyers were developed to provide the Chinese PLA Navy with a modern air defense ship capable of escorting aircraft carriers, amphibious groups and surface formations. The displacement of the ship is approximately 7,500 tons. It is equipped with a 64-cell universal vertical launcher capable of launching HHQ-9B long-range anti-aircraft missiles, YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles, CJ-10 cruise missiles for hitting ground targets and anti-submarine missile torpedoes. Combined with an active phased array radar and an advanced combat control system, the Type-052D destroyer provides versatile capabilities across the entire spectrum of naval operations.
