What tier does China’s Type 055 destroyer belong to in the world? Let’s put it this way: when there are 16 Type 055s, no country on Earth would want to fight China once. 中國055大驅在世界屬於什麼水平？這麼說吧，有16艘055的時候，地球上沒有國家想跟中國打一次.

You should know that during the initial design phase of the Type 055, the military’s thinking was highly imaginative—they actually planned to equip the Type 055 with Dongfeng ballistic missiles. However, the Dongfeng missiles were simply too long and large, so this idea couldn’t be realized. As a result, the military shifted their approach and miniaturized the missiles, leading to the development of the YJ-21.

The best way to explain how powerful China’s Type 055 destroyer is, is to compare it with other top-tier destroyers from around the world. Let’s take a few famous ones: the U.S. Arleigh Burke-class Flight III, South Korea’s Sejong the Great-class, and Japan’s Maya-class.

First, let’s look at size. The Type 055 has a full-load displacement of over 12,000 tons, making it a true large destroyer. The U.S. Burke III is about 9,800 tons, Japan’s Maya-class is just over 10,000 tons, and South Korea’s Sejong the Great-class is close to 11,000 tons. The Type 055 is the largest among them. What does a larger ship mean? It means it can carry more fuel for longer voyages, sail more steadily in rough seas of the far oceans, and most importantly, the larger hull space allows for the installation of more and more advanced equipment, with ample room for future upgrades without feeling cramped.

But size is just the foundation; the real gap lies in design and philosophy.

👉 First, the gap in radar “brains”

One of the Type 055’s biggest highlights is its four large dual-band Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar panels. It employs highly integrated “comprehensive radio frequency technology,” combining functions such as air search and fire control command into these radar panels. This gives the Type 055 a very clean and smooth superstructure, which is beneficial for stealth.

In contrast, the Burke III, while equipped with the new SPY-6 radar (which is very powerful), follows a design philosophy more akin to “patching” onto an existing foundation. Its superstructure still has many antennas for other purposes, making it look relatively cluttered. It’s like a powerful old-fashioned mobile phone that still needs a bunch of external devices attached. Japan’s Maya-class and South Korea’s Sejong the Great-class largely follow a similar approach. In terms of the integration and forward-thinking of the radar system, the Type 055 is a step ahead.

👉 Second, and the most terrifying aspect of the Type 055: its offensive power, especially its “trump card”—the YJ-21 missile. This is the real reason the Type 055 keeps its opponents awake at night.

The main offensive weapons of modern warships are stored in the Vertical Launching System (VLS) below the deck. The Type 055 has 112 VLS cells. In terms of quantity, South Korea’s Sejong the Great-class has 128 cells, which is more. However, the key issue is not the number but the “quality” of the VLS cells and the “power” of the missiles they can carry.

The Type 055’s VLS is a “cold and hot universal concentric canister launch system,” and each cell is one of the largest in any navy worldwide.

· High Versatility: One launch cell can hold long-range surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, land-attack cruise missiles, and even anti-submarine missiles. It’s like a universal power socket, offering extreme flexibility.
· Large Size: The large diameter of the cells means they can accommodate larger, longer missiles. This creates the condition for deploying “game-changer” weapons like the YJ-21.

👉 The YJ-21 is a hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile. This combination is extremely lethal and颠覆了传统海战规则 subverts traditional naval warfare rules.

· It flies high and fast, making it nearly impossible to intercept. Traditional anti-ship missiles, like the U.S. Harpoon, are subsonic or supersonic and fly close to the sea. The YJ-21’s attack profile is more like a ballistic missile: it first launches like a rocket to high altitude outside the atmosphere, then plunges towards its target at an extremely high speed (reportedly a terminal velocity exceeding Mach 10) in a near-vertical trajectory.
Existing naval air defense systems, such as the Standard Missile series, are primarily designed to intercept aircraft and cruise missiles flying within the atmosphere. Their success rate against a target plunging from directly overhead at meteor-like speeds is extremely low. It’s like this: you can swat away a basketball thrown at you, but can you catch a bullet dropped from the top of a skyscraper with your hand?
· It has a very long range, allowing it to attack from beyond the enemy’s reach. The YJ-21’s range is generally estimated to be over 1,000 kilometers, possibly even farther. This means the Type 055 can calmly launch its missiles from outside the defensive perimeter of a U.S. carrier strike group (whose carrier-based aircraft have an operational radius of about 700-800 km). I can hit you, but you can’t hit me. This “over-the-horizon” strike capability forces an enemy fleet to remain in a state of high alert at all times, severely compressing its operational space.
· The immense kinetic energy and potential armor-piercing warhead of the YJ-21 pose a fatal threat to large surface vessels like aircraft carriers. A single Type 055 can carry at least a dozen YJ-21 missiles. A single salvo could constitute a saturation attack, dealing a devastating blow to a carrier group.

In comparison, the anti-ship capabilities of the other destroyer types appear rather “conventional.” The Burke III primarily relies on the Harpoon anti-ship missile, a subsonic missile with short range and slow speed, making it easy to intercept. Japan’s Maya-class currently isn’t even equipped with dedicated heavyweight anti-ship missiles. South Korea’s Sejong the Great-class uses the domestically developed Haeseong (Sea Star) anti-ship missile, which has good performance but is essentially a conventional supersonic anti-ship missile. Its penetration capability and deterrent power are not in the same league as the YJ-21.

👉 The strength of the Type 055 lies in its asymmetric advantage. Compared to other top-tier destroyers, it is in no way inferior in traditional areas like air defense and anti-submarine warfare; it even leads in some aspects (like radar integration). But its real trump card is the disruptive long-range precision strike capability it gains from the YJ-21 missiles carried in its large universal VLS.

If destroyers like the Burke III and Maya-class are compared to highly skilled “shields” and “longswords,” then the Type 055 is not only equipped with a solid “shield” and “longsword” but also carries an extra over-the-horizon “sniper rifle.” In future naval battles, the Type 055 can fully utilize the YJ-21 to act as a “fleet killer” outside the enemy’s weapon range, completely changing the rules of the game in naval warfare.

中國055大驅在世界屬於什麼水平？這麼說吧，有16艘055的時候，地球上沒有國家想跟中國打一次.

要知道055在設計之初，軍方的想法十分的天馬行空，他們竟打算讓055帶東風彈道導彈上艦，但是東風實在是太長太大了，所以這個想法沒能實現。結果軍方換了個思路，讓導彈小型化，於是就有了鷹擊21。

要說清楚中國055型驅逐艦有多厲害，最好的辦法就是把它和世界其他同級別的頂級驅逐艦放在一起比一比。就挑幾個有名的：美國的阿利·伯克級Flight III型、韓國的世宗大王級、日本的摩耶級。

首先看塊頭。055的滿載排水量超過12000噸，是個不折不扣的萬噸大驅。美國的伯克III大概9800噸，日本的摩耶級剛過10000噸，韓國的世宗大王級接近11000噸。055是它們當中最大的。船大意味着什麼？意味着能裝更多的燃料跑更遠，能在風浪更大的遠海更穩當地航行，最重要的是，船體內部空間大，能安裝更多、更先進的設備，也為將來升級留足了餘地，不會顯得局促。

但尺寸只是基礎，真正的差距在設計和理念上。

👉第一，雷達“大腦”的差距

055最大的亮點之一，就是那四塊巨大的雙波段有源相控陣雷達陣面。它採用高度集成的“綜合射頻技術”，把對空搜索、火控指揮等多種功能都融合在這幾面雷達里。這使得055的艦橋非常簡潔光滑，有利於隱身。

反觀伯克III，它雖然也換了新的SPY-6雷達，性能很強，但它的設計思路更像是在原有基礎上“打補丁”，上層建築還有很多其他用途的天線，看起來比較雜亂。這就像一部功能強大的老式手機，但旁邊還得掛着一堆外接設備。日本的摩耶級和韓國的世宗大王級，基本也沿用類似的思路。在雷達系統的集成度和前瞻性上，055領先了一步。

👉第二，也是055最恐怖的地方：它的攻擊力，尤其是那隻“王牌”：鷹擊-21導彈。這才是055能讓對手睡不着覺的真正原因。

現代戰艦的主要攻擊武器都藏在甲板下的垂直發射系統里。055有112個發射單元，數量上韓國的世宗大王級有128個，更多。但問題的關鍵不是數量，而是發射單元的“質量”和所能攜帶導彈的“威力”。

055的垂直發射系統是“冷熱共架通用垂發”，而且每個發射單元的尺寸是目前全球海軍里最大的之一。

通用性強：一個發射井，既能裝遠程防空導彈，也能裝反艦導彈，還能裝對陸攻擊巡航導彈甚至反潛導彈，就像萬能插座，靈活性極高。

尺寸大：大口徑的發射井意味着能塞進去更大、更長的導彈。這就為鷹擊-21這種“大殺器”上艦提供了條件。

👉鷹擊-21是一種高超音速反艦彈道導彈。這個組合非常致命，它顛覆了傳統的海戰規則。

它飛得又高又快，無法攔截。 傳統反艦導彈，比如美國的“魚叉”，是亞音速或超音速貼海飛行。而鷹擊-21的攻擊模式更像彈道導彈：先像火箭一樣發射到大氣層外的高空，然後以極高的速度（據說末端速度超過10倍音速）近乎垂直地砸向目標。

現有的艦載防空系統，比如“標準”系列導彈，主要設計用來攔截在大氣層內飛行的飛機和巡航導彈，對這種從頭頂以流星般速度砸下來的目標，攔截成功率極低。這就好比，你能用手拍停一隻飛來的籃球，但你能用手接住從摩天樓頂扔下的子彈嗎？

它打得非常遠，能在你夠不着我的地方發動攻擊。 鷹擊-21的射程普遍估計超過1000公里，甚至可能更遠。這意味着，055可以在美國航母戰鬥群的防禦圈之外（航母艦載機的作戰半徑大約700-800公里），就從容地發射導彈。我打得着你，你卻打不着我。這種“超視距”打擊能力，迫使敵方艦隊必須時刻保持高度警惕，極大地壓縮了其活動空間。

鷹擊-21的巨大動能和可能配備的穿甲彈頭，對航母這種大型水面艦艇是致命的威脅。一艘055至少能攜帶十多枚鷹擊-21，一次齊射就能形成飽和攻擊，對航母編隊構成毀滅性打擊。

相比之下，其他幾型驅逐艦的反艦能力就顯得有些“傳統”了。伯克III主要依賴“魚叉”反艦導彈，這是一種亞音速導彈，射程短、速度慢，很容易被攔截。日本摩耶級目前甚至沒有配備專門的重型反艦導彈。韓國的世宗大王級使用的是韓國自研的“海星”反艦導彈，性能不錯，但本質上仍是常規的超音速反艦導彈，其突防能力和威懾力與鷹擊-21完全不在一個層級。

👉055的強大，是一種非對稱的優勢。和其他頂級驅逐艦比，它在傳統的防空、反潛等領域毫不遜色，甚至在某些方面（如雷達集成度）領先。但它真正的王牌，是憑藉其大型通用垂發系統搭載的鷹擊-21導彈，獲得了一種顛覆性的遠程精確打擊能力。

如果把伯克III、摩耶級這樣的戰艦比作是技藝高超的“盾牌”和“長劍”，那055就是在擁有堅實“盾牌”和“長劍”的同時，還額外配備了一把超視距的“狙擊步槍”。在未來的海戰場上，055完全可以憑藉鷹擊-21，在敵方火力範圍外扮演“艦隊殺手”的角色，徹底改變海戰的遊戲規則。