The Growing Crisis: Chinese Navy Leads in Quantity and Firepower over US Navy

The fleet of Chinese warships is developing rapidly, which constitutes a growing crisis for the Americans, who are looking for all ways to keep up with it.

Not only is the Chinese navy the largest in the world, but its numerical superiority over the United States is widening, as the head of the US Navy recently warned that they could not keep up.

Some experts estimate that China can build three warships in the time it takes the United States to build one, according to a report published by CNN.

The Pentagon also estimates that the Chinese navy currently has about 340 warships, while the United States has fewer than 300.

She believes the Chinese fleet will grow to 400 in the next two years, while it will take until 2045 for the US fleet to reach 350.

But American concerns lie not only with the expansion of the Chinese navy, but with some ships produced by China that have more firepower than some of their American counterparts.

In addition to China, other countries such as South Korea have the best destroyers in the world, and here are some of them.

Chinese destroyer “Nanchang 055”.

The destroyer “Nanchang 055” weighs between 12,000 to 13,000 tons, which is larger than typical destroyers, and is closer in size to the US Navy’s Ticonderoga class cruisers.

While it has 112 cells for the Vertical Launch System (VLS) that fires surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles, which is more than 96 cells on the US Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

It also has advanced radio systems and anti-submarine weapons systems, according to “CNN”.

China is working to enlarge its fleet of these destroyers, as it began building this type in 2014 and recently launched its eighth version, “Xianyang”.

Chinese Destroyer 055 (AB)

South Korean destroyer “Sejong”.

But some Western analysts say the Type 055 may have an equivalent in South Korea’s Sejong-class destroyer.

Weighing around 10-12,000 tons, the capable destroyer is slightly smaller than the Chinese Type 055, but has more firepower, with 128 VLS cells and weapons including surface-to-air, anti-submarine and cruise missiles.

South Korean Sejong destroyers (AP)

Japanese destroyer “Maya”.

In parallel, Japan also has the best destroyers in the world, according to Alessio Batalano, professor of war and strategy at King’s College in London.

And the country’s newest Maya-class destroyers are armed with 96 VLS cells that can launch both anti-ballistic and anti-submarine missiles.

While the quality of the sensors and special systems is very advanced, as it has the ability to destroy ballistic missiles that travel outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

Japanese Maya destroyer (seaforces)

Japanese destroyer Mogami

Japan also has a destroyer of the “Mogami” class, which are fast warships weighing 5,500 tons with 16 VLS cells that fire surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles.

And all with a crew of 90 and a price tag of about $372 million each.

Japanese destroyer Mogami (Reuters)

In 2019, economic activity related to the U.S. shipbuilding industry totaled nearly 400,000 jobs and contributed $42.4 billion to gross domestic product, according to the Maritime Administration, with 154 shipyards in 29 countries classified as active shipbuilders and more than 300 of them are engaged in ship repair or are able to build ships.

The US military is an important source of demand for these shipbuilders, while less than 3% of ships delivered in 2020 went to US government agencies, of which 14 of the 15 large deep-sea vessels were to a mix of the US Navy and US Coast Guard.

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