China's Super Force: 5 Destroyers Being Built Simultaneously At Dalian Shipyard

China's naval modernization plans seem to be going at breakneck speed as reports emerge the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is building five state-of-the-art destroyers simultaneously at its Dalian shipyard.

A ship spotter photo doing rounds on Chinese social media platform Weibo showed five Type 052D destroyers taking shape in a dry dock in the northern part of the country. The warships are in various phases of construction.

The picture attests to China's status as the world's largest naval force, the result of a mission undertaken by the Chinese Communist Party in 2012 to turn the PLA Navy into a world-class maritime force. According to the Department of Defense report, PLAN has already surpassed the U.S. Navy in total battle force ships with approximately 295 to 360 ships in its fleet. China also is projected to own over 400 warships by the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, Chinese military observers told Naval News the ships spotted at Dalian were Type 052DL destroyers, one of the latest generation of guided-missile destroyers owned by the Chinese Navy. The PLAN reportedly owns 25 destroyers of Type 052D and Type 052DL class. Besides the five being constructed at Dalian, one more is being built at the Jiangnan Changxing Shipbuilding and Heavy Industry Corporation in Shanghai.

All new Type 052 destroyers are expected to be the "DL" variant, a model closely based on the Type 052D class. The "DL" variant has a stretched hull, which allows it to accommodate newer Z-20 helicopters. Military watcher claim the new variant has a powerful new radar, which helps it track airborne stealth targets such as bombers, fighters, and specialized radar evading cruise missile classes.

These features will reportedly help it counter U.S. stealth aircraft like the F-35s and B-21 bombers. These warships are also equipped with a total of 64 vertical launch system (VLS) cells for Chinese missiles, including the ship launched YJ-18 cruise missiles.

This comes as Chinese state mouthpiece Global Times recently reported two PLA Type 055 Class destroyers, the Anshan and the Wuxi, are expected to achieve combat capability by the end of the year. The report added the warships, currently taking part in a series of drills, will accompany their sister ships in "island chain-breaking far sea operations like encircling Japan and patrolling near Alaska."

The first Type 055 destroyers commissioned by the PLAN, the Nanchang and the Lhasa, have also conducted far sea exercises that broke the first island chain. While the Nanchang reportedly sailed near Alaska in 2021, the Lhasa reportedly sailed in a full circle around Japan in June this year.