The fifth Type 055 (Renhai-class) destroyer on order for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been launched at the Jiangnan Changxingdao shipyard near Shanghai.
Work is now continuing in the fitting-out basin, as shown in commercial satellite imagery captured on 18 September.
The launch was not covered by official Chinese media but the satellite imagery shows that it occurred between 7 and 18 September, with some Chinese social media sites claiming that it took place on 12 September.
Displacing more than 10,000 tonnes, the Type 055 is the largest destroyer built for the PLAN. Its vertical launch system (VLS) comprises 112 cells from which surface-to-air, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and land-attack missiles can be launched.
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