China's new 10,000-ton Type 055 guided-missile cruiser/destroyer entered the water at Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard during a launching ceremony on the morning of June 28, 2017. As China's new domestically-produced destroyer, it is equipped with latest air defense, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapon systems.

中国新型1万吨055型导弹巡洋舰/驱逐舰于2017年6月28日上午在上海江南造船厂举行下水仪式。作为中国新型的国产驱逐舰，配备了最新防空，反导弹，反舰和反潜武器系统。

 

The Type 055 guided missile destroyer [cruiser] must be one of the most anticipated platforms in the Chinese Navy, apart from the aircraft carrier. By 2014 photographs of a radar test installation apparently associated with this programs had finally surfaced on the Chinese internet. It remained unclear whether the Type 055 would prove to be a 160-meter long DDG-57 counterpart or a 180-meter DDG-1000 counterpart, but as it turned out, the design is closer to the later than the former.

除了航空母舰之外，055型导弹驱逐舰[巡洋舰]必须是中国海军最受期待的平台之一。到2014年，与这个计划相关的雷达测试设备的照片终于浮出水面了。目前尚不清楚055型是否将被证明是一个160米长的DDG-57型对手或一个180米长的DDG-1000型对手，但事实证明，设计比前者更接近。

 

The launching ceremony of the first new guided-missile destroyer of the Chinese PLA Navy was held at Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) on the morning of June 28, 2017. It is a milestone in the PLA Navy's strategic transformation and development. Gen. Zhang Youxia, member of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) and head of the CMC Equipment Development Department, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. The ceremony was kicked off at 9:00 and a bottle of champagne was broken on the bow deck as a customary way of blessing the new ship. Then, the destroyer was dragged onto the pontoon and entered water.

中国人民解放军海军第一艘新型导弹驱逐舰于2017年6月28日上午在上海江南造船厂（集团）举行下水仪式，是中国人民解放军海军战略转型发展的里程碑。中央军委委员，中央军事装备发展部部长张又侠出席仪式并致辞。仪式在9点开始，一瓶香槟在在舰艏上被打碎，是一种传统的祝福新船的方式。然后，驱逐舰被拖到浮箱上进入水中。

 

This new 10,000-ton-class guided-missile destroyer is independently developed and manufactured by China. A series of technical breakthroughs in overall vessel design, information integration and assembly has been made during the shipbuilding process. Equipped with new types of air defense, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapon systems, the new destroyer has strong capabilities of information detection, air and missile defense, and maritime target attacking.

这艘新的1万吨级导弹驱逐舰是由中国自主研发建造的。整个船舶设计，信息集成和总装过程中的一系列技术突破在造船过程中得到了应用。新型驱逐舰配备新型防空，反导弹，反舰和反潜武器系统，具有较强的信息感知，空中和导弹防御能力和海上目标攻击能力。

 

Next, it is learned that the new guided-missile destroyer will carry out equipment debugging and sea trial as planned. Leaders from the PLA Navy, State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, Shanghai municipal government and China State Shipbuilding Corporation, as well as other military representatives and local officials, attended the ceremony.

接下来，据了解新型导弹驱逐舰将按计划进行设备调试和海试。中国人民解放军海军，国家科技工业和国防科技工业局，上海市政府，中国造船集团公司以及其他军事代表和地方领导出席了此次仪式。

 

In March 2016 Chinese media reported that the 175-meter-long vessel would be outfitted with four new types of missiles, including medium-range air defense and antisubmarine missiles, as well as long-range air defense missiles and supersonic long-range anti-ship missiles. The Type 055 destroyers would also brandish long-range land attack cruise missiles and a sea-based missile interceptor. It would have ninety-six vertical launching systems, meaning the ship would not only be able to carry more weapons, but also larger missiles.

2016年3月，中国媒体报道说，175米长的舰只将配备四种新型导弹，包括中程防空和反潜导弹，以及远程防空导弹和超音速远程反舰导弹。055型驱逐舰也炫耀远程攻陆巡航导弹和海基导弹拦截。它将有九十六具垂直发射系统，这意味着该舰不仅能够携带更多的武器，而且能携带更大的导弹。

 

In addition, the all-important phased array radars have been upgraded to include both X-band and S-band arrays – and thus may be on par with America's top air-defense ships. The radars deliver the ship's core competence. Like the Aegis-equipped destroyers that formed the model for its predecessors, Type 055's main mission is still certain to be fleet air defense, including for Beijing's carrier battle groups. The Type 055 guided missile destroyer's other missions would likely include missile defense and anti-satellite operations.

此外，重要的相控阵雷达已经升级为包括X波段和S波段阵列，因此可能与美国的顶级防空舰艇相当。雷达提供船舶的核心竞争力。像“前辈”型号的“宙斯盾”型驱逐舰一样，055型的主要任务仍然是舰队防空，包括“北京号”航空母舰战斗群。 055型导弹驱逐舰的其他任务可能包括导弹防御和反卫星作战。

 

Since the Type 055 by its nature is the latest and best, why should China continue to build a large number of Type 052D? Some people do not understood building the 052D and 055 at the same time, causing people to talk about whether there is 052D and 055 dispute. someone from the perspective of efficiency would argue that the 055 is too expensive, and it would be better to continue more 052D. Others claim that the 052D out of date, and that China should immediately stop construction. The 052D performance does have a gap with 055, but it is mature mass production. All the equipment is proven, the main technical problems have been resolved, and now the factory worked pipeline-style, for a lot of construction. By 2016 the construction of the platform did not exceed 18 months, which has been greatly improved, and definitely the 055 cannot be compared.

由于055型的类型是最新的和最好的，为什么中国继续建造一大批052D型？有些人不理解同时建造052D型和055型，引起人们谈论是否有052D型和055型的争议。从效率的角度看，有人认为055型太贵了，更好的是继续052D型。另一些人则认为，052D型过时，中国应立即停止施工。052D型性能与055型有差距，但它是成熟的大批量建造。所有的设备都经过了验证，主要的技术问题已经解决了，现在工厂流水线式施工，大量施工。到2016年底，平台建造时间已不超过18个月，已大大改善，055型绝对不能相比。

 

The Type 055 is immature, with many pieces of equipment and technology that need to be verified. To immediately put into high-volume construction is impossible. The PLAN must take a small step, the first small amount of construction, until the main technology is resolved, into a lot of construction. For the new model of the ship, the duration of the pause is a normal phenomenon, in the face of major technical problems. The need to modify the design is common, as the result of service time is almost impossible to avoid. In the case of the US Navy, the construction of a new generation of DDG1000 destroyers, did not stop the construction of Burke-class. The situation is that the Type 055 cannot immediately be put into mass production, before it was fully mature.

055型还不成熟，有许多需要验证的设备和技术。立即投入大量建造是不可能的。该计划必须采取一小步，第一小规模的建造，直到主要技术得到解决，进入了大量的建造。对于新型号的船舶，停顿时间是一个正常的现象，面对重大的技术问题。修改设计的需要是很常见的，因为服役时间的结果几乎是不可能避免的。在美国海军的情况下，新一代DDG1000驱逐舰的建造，并没有停止伯克（Burke）级建造。情况是，在完全成熟之前，055型不能立即投入大规模建造。