China’s Type 055 destroyer looks world-class on paper—10,000 tons, 112 missile cells, advanced radar. But Chinese state TV showed crews admitting “significant challenges” in air defense exercises against their own Air Force in training scenarios.China declares these ships combat ready in 7-9 months versus 18-24+ months for U.S. Navy training. They’re building destroyers faster than they can train crews to operate them—impressive hardware undermined by rushed training timelines.
