The Diplomat:
China has reportedly begun construction of its sixth Type 055 guided-missile destroyer on order for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), according to commercial satellite imagery analyzed by IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly. The destroyer is being built at the Dalian shipyard in Liaoning province.
“The imagery shows that the pier side assembly of the first modules for hull 6 began between 21 December 2017 and 3 January 2018,” the March 14 analysis notes. “Two Type 055 hulls (3 and 4), both of which are in the late stages of assembly, are present in a neighboring dry dock.”
Furthermore, according to Jane’s, three other ships of the class — Hulls 1, 2, and 5 — are currently under construction at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard, where the lead vessel of the class was also launched in June 2017.
