According to a tweet published by Henri Kenhmann on October 15, 2021, Chinese Television showed for the first time images of the People's Liberation Army Navy Type 055 large destroyer Nanchang firing missiles.
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Type 055 large destroyer Nanchang firing missiles (Picture source: Twitter account of Henri Kenhmann)
The Type 055 destroyer (Renhai-class cruiser) is a class of stealth guided missile destroyers (guided-missile cruisers per NATO standard) being constructed for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force. It is a multi-mission design; the combination of sensors and weapons suggests the main role of area air defense, with anti-submarine warfare capabilities surpassing previous Chinese surface combatants.
Nanchang, the first ship of the class, began construction in 2014 at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai and was commissioned on 12 January 2020.
Propulsive power is generated by four 28 MW QC-280 gas turbines in combined gas and gas arrangement. Additional power may be provided by six 5 MW QD-50 gas turbines. The maximum speed is estimated to be 30 knots.
The primary armament is missiles carried in 112-cell vertical launching system (VLS); 64 cells forward and 48 cells aft. The same VLS model is used on the Type 052D destroyer, which is believed to be an implementation of the GJB 5860-2006 standard; the GJB 5860-2006 is capable of hot and cold launches using concentric canisters. The longest variant, with 9-metre cells, is likely used.
