Type 055 'Renhai'The commissioning of the first-in-class Nanchang in 2020 revealed China had launched one of the world's top surface combatants. ADEach Type 055, which NATO classifies as the Renhai-class, is fitted with 112 vertical launch system (VLS) cells, which launch missiles. The Type 055 is also brimming with modern radars, sensors, and other electronics. MC2 Malachi Lakey/US NavyThe size, armament, and mission of the Type 055 are often compared to the US Navy's Ticonderoga-class cruiser. MC2 Indra Beaufort/US NavyThe importance of the Ticonderoga and the Type 055 to their respective fleets is hard to overstate.

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Persons: Chris Carlson, Fu Tian, Nanchang, SAMs, Yu, barelled, PJ, It's, Burke, Carlson, Malachi Lakey, Sparrow SAMs, Indra Beaufort, Carlos Del Toro, Arleigh Burke, Del Toro, Benjamin Brimelow Organizations: People's Liberation Army Navy, US Department of Defense, US Navy, China News Service, Getty, NATO, BMD, Arleigh, Cruisers, US, Seahawk, Ticonderoga, South Pacific, USS, Navy, Antietam, Global Affairs, Fletcher School of Law, Diplomacy, Business, Modern, Institute Locations: China, Nanchang, Shandong, Normandy, Lake, Alaska, Vanuatu, South, Royal, Taiwan, Norway, South China, Vella, Vicksburg, Cowpens, Leyte Gulf, West