Chinese destroyer Zunyi (107)
{{for|other ships with the same name|Chinese ship Zunyi}}
{{short description|Type 055 destroyer of the PLA Navy}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = China | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|China|naval}} | Ship name = Zunyi | Ship namesake = *Zunyi
| Ship ordered = | Ship awarded = | Ship builder = Dalian Shipyard, LiaoningJane's Fighting Ships, 2023-24 Edition, ISBN 978-0-7106-3428 3, page 138. | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = | Ship way number = | Ship launched = 26 December 2019 | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = November 2022 | Ship recommissioned = | Ship decommissioned = | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship renamed = | Ship reclassified = | Ship refit = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship homeport = | Ship identification = Pennant number: 107{{Cite web |author=United States Navy Office of Naval Intelligence |author-link=Office of Naval Intelligence |date=December 2022 |title=PLA Navy Identification Guide |url=https://www.oni.navy.mil/Portals/12/2022_PLAN_Recognition_Poster_UNCLASSIFIED.pdf |access-date=20 December 2022 |df=dmy-all }} | Ship motto = | Ship nickname = | Ship honours = | Ship honors = | Ship captured = | Ship fate = | Ship status = Active | Ship notes = | Ship badge = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = Type 055 destroyer | Ship displacement = {{cvt|12 |
| 13000|t|LT|lk=on}} (full load)
| Ship length = {{convert|180|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|20|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = {{convert|6.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship power = * 6 × QD-50 turbine generators ({{convert|5|MW|abbr=on}} each)
| Ship propulsion = * COGAG
| Ship speed = {{convert|30|kn|lk=in}} | Ship range = {{convert|5000|nmi|km|abbr=on|lk=in}} | Ship endurance = | Ship troops = | Ship complement = 300+ | Ship time to activate = | Ship sensors = * Type 346B (C/S-band) radar
| Ship EW = * Electronic warfare system | Ship armament = * 1 × H/PJ-38 130 mm gun
| Ship armour = | Ship aircraft = * 2 medium-lift helicopters | Ship aircraft facilities = *Stern hangar
| Ship notes = | Fully Loaded = }} |
Zunyi (107) is a Type 055 destroyer of the People's Liberation Army Navy. She was commissioned in November 2022.
Development and design
The People's Liberation Army Navy was interested in a large destroyer from as early as the late-1960s. A development program, code-named "055", initiated in 1976 was cancelled in 1983 after encountering insurmountable technical obstacles from industrial underdevelopment; for example, the required gas turbine power plants could neither be produced domestically, nor imported at acceptable prices.{{cite book|title=Historical Data of Destroyers|publisher=China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, Department of Equipment and Technology of People's Liberation Army Navy|series=Historical Data of Chinese Shipbuilding Industry|pages=10–11|language=zh-hans|chapter=Summary of Historic facts （Part 3, Reviews of Large Size Destroyer Research）}} In April 2014, an image emerged of a full-scale mock-up of the Type 055 superstructure - with enclosed integrated mast for radar and other electronics at the Chinese naval electronic testing range in Wuhan.Caldwell et al.: page 4{{cite web|last1=Lin|first1=Jeffrey|last2=Singer|first2=P.W.|date=9 April 2014|title=The next new major Chinese warship arrives, on land|url=http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/eastern-arsenal/next-new-major-chinese-warship-arrives-land|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430033055/http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/eastern-arsenal/next-new-major-chinese-warship-arrives-land|archive-date=30 April 2015|accessdate=29 May 2015|website=Popular Science|df=dmy-all}}
The Type 055 is expected to undertake expeditionary missions and form the primary escort for Chinese aircraft carriers.{{Cite news|last=Rogoway|first=Tyler|title=China's Type 055 Super Destroyer Is A Reality Check For The US And Its Allies|language=en-US|work=The Drive|url=http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/11941/chinas-type-055-super-destroyer-is-a-reality-check-for-the-us-and-its-allies|url-status=live|access-date=22 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822220648/http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/11941/chinas-type-055-super-destroyer-is-a-reality-check-for-the-us-and-its-allies|archive-date=22 August 2017|df=dmy-all}}{{Cite web|last=Holmes|first=James R.|date=15 February 2018|title=Fleet Design with Chinese Characteristics|url=https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/Holmes_Written%20Testimony.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707092509/https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/Holmes_Written%20Testimony.pdf|archive-date=7 July 2018|accessdate=6 July 2018|work=The Drive|df=dmy-all}} While China classifies the Zunyi as a destroyer, the United States Department of Defense and the Office of the Secretary of Defense have classified the vessel as a cruiser since its full displacement weight exceeds 12,000 tonnes.{{cite news |title=What we know about the Chinese vessels conducting military exercises in the Tasman Sea |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/chinese/542972/what-we-know-about-the-chinese-vessels-conducting-military-exercises-in-the-tasman-sea |access-date=3 March 2025 |work=Radio New Zealand |date=25 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250301205625/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/chinese/542972/what-we-know-about-the-chinese-vessels-conducting-military-exercises-in-the-tasman-sea |archive-date=1 March 2025}}{{cite report|url=https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2017_China_Military_Power_Report.PDF|title=Annual Report To Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2017|author=United States Department of Defense|date=May 2017|page=25|authorlink=United States Department of Defense|access-date=22 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719115001/https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2017_China_Military_Power_Report.PDF|archive-date=19 July 2018|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} The United States Navy defines a cruiser as a large multi-mission surface combatant with flagship capabilities; this suggests the U.S. expects the Type 055 to fulfill a similar role as the {{sclass|Ticonderoga|cruiser|1}}.{{cite web|date=9 January 2017|title=United States Navy Fact File: Cruisers - CG|url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=800&ct=4|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706075338/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=800&ct=4|archive-date=6 July 2018|access-date=6 July 2018|df=dmy-all}}
Construction and career
The Zunyi was launched on 26 December 2019 at the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company in Liaoning. The ship was commissioned in November 2022. It is part of the South Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
Between mid February and early March 2025, the Zunyi was part of a task group of Chinese three warships including the Jiangkai-class frigate {{ship|Chinese frigate|Hengyang|568|2}} and Fushi-class replenishment vessel {{ship|Chinese replenishment ship|Weishanhu||2}}, which conducted live-fire exercises in international waters in the Tasman Sea. The task group was monitored by both the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces.{{cite web |last1=Arthur |first1=Gordon |title=Chinese Navy penetrates deep into the Tasman Sea |url=https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/02/chinese-navy-penetrates-deep-into-the-tasman-sea/ |website=Naval News |access-date=5 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250328065618/https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/02/chinese-navy-penetrates-deep-into-the-tasman-sea/ |archive-date=28 March 2025 |date=27 February 2025 |url-status=live}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Type 055 destroyer}}
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