The upshot has severe implications for the balance of power in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. An earlier replacement program, the USS Zumwalt class, was abandoned due to excessive costs and a failure to produce its advanced weapon systems on time. Yet the outmoded World War II gun-based language still shapes the thoughts and opinions of politicians, the general public – and military personnel.īut the raw numbers show a 48-cell “Air Warfare Destroyer” has little chance of protecting itself – yet alone the troop transports it is tasked to guard – against even a single 112-cell “Guided Missile Destroyer”.Īnd the US Pentagon is accelerating plans to retire its expensive-to-maintain Ticonderoga Cruiser fleet, despite plans for its replacement – DDG (X) – appearing to have stalled. These designations – cruiser, destroyer or frigate – appear meaningless in the context of their size and firepower.Ī Type 055 undergoing speed trials. All carry 48-cell Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) and an assortment of short-range and point-defence weapons. All are bigger than World War II cruisers. It’s the third and final of a batch of three modern 7000-ton warships based on a Spanish F-100 “frigate” design. The Royal Australian Navy recently accepted the “Air-Warfare Destroyer” HMAS Sydney. It’s designation is Guided Missile Cruiser. But it’s called a Guided Missile Destroyer.
That’s the equivalent of a World War II heavy cruiser. Prototypes of such weapons are already being tested at sea. Now Beijing-controlled media reports the Type 055s are fitted with 20-megawatt generators capable of powering high-energy weapons such as lasers and electromagnetic rail guns. Some US Ticonderoga and Arleigh-Burke class ships also have this capability. Not only does this put crucial surveillance and communications satellites at risk, it also indicates the potential to intercept ballistic rockets – whether they carry hypersonic or nuclear warheads or not. Its VLS cells can carry 9m-long missiles powerful enough to reach them. But it’s the potential of Type 055 that has the US Navy on edge.Ĭhinese Communist Party-controlled media claims its dual-band radars can detect stealth aircraft and track low-Earth orbit satellites.
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