Global Times: Yet another Type 052D guided missile destroyer of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, recently conducted its maiden training – together with a newly debuted Type 055 large destroyer, according to official media reports on Thursday. Chinese experts said that the growing numbers of the Type 052D destroyer and joint training with the Type 055 destroyer will enhance coordination and help the PLA Navy shift toward stronger far-sea combat capabilities.
The Type 052D destroyer Xigaze (Hull 159) made its public debut with its first training exercise, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported on Thursday.
Recently, during the Xigaze’s first combat training at sea, the warship completed combat-oriented training subjects such as joint maritime search and rescue and replenishment-at-sea, as well as special situation disposal training including ship damage control. This not only tested the performance of the ship’s equipment but also accelerated the development of combat capabilities among the crew, according to the CCTV News report.
There have been more than 30 Type 052D guided missile destroyers in service with the PLA Navy, according to a separate CCTV News report in February.
The Type 052D destroyer is already a relatively mature class of guided missile destroyer in the PLA Navy. Its overall training procedures are well established, and the crew members usually undergo rigorous training before taking over the ship. Therefore, although the vessel itself may be newly commissioned, the experienced crew operating it during exercises can enable the ship to rapidly develop both combat capability and support capability, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday.
The steady increase in the number of the Type 052D destroyer will help promote the transformation of the PLA Navy from a force primarily focused on near-shore defense into one capable of conducting far-sea defense operations, Zhang Junshe, another Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday.
At the same time, it could further enhance the PLA Navy’s ability to conduct both offensive and defensive operations in distant waters, strengthening China’s capacity to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests. It will also help achieve the strategic objective of keeping potential threats away from the country’s doorstep by carrying out defensive operations at greater distances from the homeland, Zhang said.
In addition to the Type 052D Xigaze, the latest CCTV News report showed that the Type 055 large destroyer Anqing (Hull 110) also participated in the training.
The Type 055 large destroyers Dongguan (Hull 109) and Anqing (Hull 110) recently just made their debut, China Military Bugle, an official media account affiliated with the PLA’s News Media Center, reported on Thursday.
The China Military Bugle report also confirmed that the Xigaze and the Anqing conducted their maiden maritime training together. It said that a formation consisting of several warships, including the Anqing, Xigaze and Suzhou, under a detachment of the PLA Eastern Theater Command Navy sailed to a certain sea area in the East China Sea and conducted intensive training on multiple subjects such as maritime strike and air defense. A separate naval formation, including the Dongguan, Dazhou, and Hangzhou, under a certain detachment of the PLA Eastern Theater Command Navy, sailed to a certain sea area in the East China Sea to carry out multi-subject and full-element actual combat joint training, tempering the formation’s coordinated combat capabilities and the core combat effectiveness of the warships in complex environments.
Song said that joint training between the Type 052D destroyer and the Type 055 destroyer is reasonable. In future naval formations, whether aircraft carrier strike groups, amphibious strike groups, or destroyer flotillas, these two classes are highly likely to operate together.
Therefore, joint training between them helps strengthen coordination and cooperation, enabling the two ships to better perform combat, training, and support missions together. For newly commissioned vessels, building integrated combat capability between the two is also something to look forward to, Song added.
