Today I shall be looking at some of the largest destroyers (by sheer tonnage) that currently sail the sea. The warships that I will be looking at are the Sejong the Great class destroyers, the Type 055 class destroyers and the Zumwalt class destroyers.
Sejong the Great class destroyer (10,000 tonnes)
The Sejong the Great class destroyers are arguably some of the most powerful surface warships afloat. They serve the ROKN and are a class consisting of six planned warships with three already built and in service, with another three under construction. They are armed with a powerful 127mm calibre naval cannon, the famous goalkeeper CIWS and RAM CIWS , anti-ship missiles, anti-air missiles, land attack missiles, torpedoes and helicopters. They are also equipped with powerful sensors, an electronic warfare suite and decoys. They sit at around 166m in length from bow to stern, can travel at speeds of around 30 knots and are equipped with the AEGIS system and are even able to intercept ballistic missiles.
Type 055 class destroyer (13,000 tonnes)
The Type 055 class destroyer is the latest PLAN destroyer and what looks to be a beast of a warship, they are said to be so big and powerful that they dwarf some cruisers. Currently only one is in service (entering service at the start of this year, with another seven on the way. These ships are armed with a 130mm naval gun, a 30mm CIWS, anti-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, land attack missiles, torpedoes and also the ability to carry helicopters. These ships do also have a distinctive stealthy design, especially when compared to the Sejong the Great class. Similarly to the Sejong the Great class, they can apparently do around 30 knots. Due to the highly secretive nature of the PLA forces and since these ships are very new, their exact capabilities are obviously a bit unknown to the public.
Zumwalt class destroyer (16,000 tonnes)
We move on to the final ship in our list and that is the Zumwalt class destroyers of the USN. Massive, famous and also a little bit controversial. These ships are truly a unique sight on the high seas. These ships were designed to mount the new 155mm Advanced Gun System (two of them to be exact). The Advanced Gun System (AGS) was designed to fire the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) which was a very advanced, long range precision munition under development. However the cost of an individual LRLAP was so obscenely expensive that the Navy axed the acquisition of these munitions. Regardless, the Zumwalt class was still over budget and so the planned class of 20 was cut down to just three ships. From a purely subjective stand point, I do personally think that these are very beautiful ships and despite their issues. There is the possibility that the Lyndon B. Johnson (the final ship of the class) is to be mounted with an experimental railgun due to the generators being able to handle the power requirement for such a weapon unlike other American warships.
Index
AEGIS system: An American computer system designed to be equipped on surface warships which integrates the sensors and computers of a ship with the weapons to track and guide them to destroy targets.
Bow: The front-most part of a ship.
Calibre: the diameter of a weapons barrel and hence the diameter of the shot it fires.
CIWS: Close-in Weapons System, a type of weapons system that is designed to take out small targets, usually fast moving targets such as missiles and aircraft. They can either be highly rapid fire guns or missiles.
Destroyers: a type of warships in existence since around the First World War and today make up the bulk of major naval fleets.
Knots: a measurement of speed mainly used for ships and aircraft.
LRLAP: An experimental extremely long range naval gun projectile.
PLA: Peoples Liberation Army (the armed forces of the Peoples Republic of China)
PLAN: Peoples Liberation Army Navy.
Precision munition: ordinance that is designed to be guided such as laser guided munitions.
Railgun: A highly experimental weapon that basically uses magnets to propel projectiles at speeds and distances unlike ever before seen.
ROKN: Republic of Korea Navy.
Stern: The rear-most part of a ship.
USN: United States Navy.
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