Since the birth of the destroyer, the navies of various countries have never stopped developing and improving it. As a multi-purpose warship, destroyer has been one of the important naval vessels since 1990s.

Modern destroyers are equipped with weapons such as air defense, anti-submarine and anti-sea, which can not only undertake offensive assault tasks, but also undertake air defense and anti-submarine escort tasks of combat formations, as well as patrol, vigilance, reconnaissance, maritime blockade and maritime rescue. Destroyers have always been favored by navies of various countries because of their extensive combat functions.

From the past "light cavalry" to today's "all-rounder", from "debut" in naval battle to "main responsibility" in ocean fierce battle, what kind of development course has the destroyer experienced and how will it continue to "upgrade" in the future?

"deus ex" in the battlefield smoke

/kloc-in the late 20th century, the gunship became the "main theme" of the development of navies all over the world-many countries are committed to building a fleet with battleships as the mainstay and cruisers as the supplement, hoping to dominate the ocean with larger tonnage ships, thicker armor and more powerful artillery.

1877 Torpedo weapons were widely used, and Britain made the first torpedo boat "Lightning" with a displacement of about 30 tons. This type of torpedo boat has the characteristics of small size, fast speed and flexible steering. It can fire torpedoes at close range and is not easy to sink, which greatly threatens the survival of huge ships. Even the "Big Mac at Sea" warship at that time had to stay away from it. Countries are scrambling to copy, and similar ships are rapidly spreading.

1892, the British Arrow Company cooperated with the Navy to design a new type of anti-torpedo ship-torpedo destroyer, referred to as destroyer. This kind of ship can be equipped with many small caliber guns and torpedoes, which can not only deal with torpedo boats, but also attack large surface ships like torpedo boats.

1893 10 in June, the British royal navy destroyer "Hawick" was officially launched. Designed by Fisher, the father of modern British navy, this ship is the first real destroyer in the world.

"HOWAKE" has a displacement of more than 200 tons and a speed of about 27 knots. Although the tonnage and firepower are not as good as cruisers, they are mobile enough to catch up with enemy torpedo boats with speed and easily destroy each other with artillery. Moreover, this type of destroyer is equipped with artillery and torpedoes at the same time, which can replace torpedo boats to launch torpedo attacks on large enemy warships to complete the task.

With the appearance of destroyers, torpedo boats were suppressed and became "living targets" at sea, and eventually they were "expelled" from the historical stage. Destroyers emerge one after another, and gradually become the standing ships of national fleets.

In the 20th century, destroyers became larger in tonnage, equipped with heavy guns and large-caliber torpedo tubes, powered by steam turbines, and their speed was greatly improved. At this time, the displacement of the destroyer is about 1000 tons. Although we can't "confront head-on" with 10,000-ton warships in naval battles, many destroyers can also fight against a small number of 3,000-ton or 4,000-ton light cruisers. In addition, destroyers can use torpedoes to raid enemy ships during the battle between two huge ships, and they can also pose a threat to enemy ships.

In World War I, destroyers frequently appeared in naval battles and accomplished important tasks many times. In the Battle of Helgolan Bay, Britain dispatched more than 30 destroyers to attack the German military port and sank many German destroyers.

In the later period of Jutland naval battle, the British and German armies confronted each other in dense fog. A British destroyer team torpedoed the German battleship Pomera with a tonnage of 14000 tons.

Later, Germany launched an unrestricted submarine war, and British and American destroyers played an important role in the escort mission.

With the progress of the First World War, destroyers gradually tend to be large-scale, and their weapons and equipment are getting stronger and stronger. After developing the V-class destroyer, Britain built the W-class destroyer.

After the United States entered the war, Bath Steel Works and Bethlehem Shipyard jointly built the "Vickers" class destroyer and the "clemson" class destroyer. Compared with the beginning of its birth, the destroyer's endurance has made a qualitative leap, and it has the ability to carry out ocean-going combat missions with the main fleet.

After World War I, destroyers still developed rapidly. In order to reduce the arms race, the world's military powers only restrict the main ships such as battleships and heavy cruisers by signing treaties. In this context, destroyers have naturally become a means of secret game among countries. The tonnage has increased to more than 1500 tons, and the caliber of artillery and torpedo tubes has also increased.

Take advantage of the trend and become a "rising star"

During World War II, due to the large-scale installation of fighter planes, the air defense capability of the fleet became an important tactical requirement. A fleet must be equipped with several destroyers to build a complete air defense fire network. The tonnage of destroyers has further increased, and radar avionics has also been developing.

After World War II, destroyers continued to be valued by navies of various countries for their rich and varied operational functions. Its primary task is no longer to attack enemy surface fleets with torpedoes, but to become anti-submarine warfare. In 1950s, the United States built the "Sherman" class destroyer and the super-large "Norfolk" class destroyer, which led the technical trend of destroyers. Air defense artillery has gradually become a standard, and torpedo weapons equipped on board have been used in anti-submarine warfare.

With the advent of the missile era, the offensive performance of destroyers has entered the "fast lane". 1955, a keel-class destroyer named Keats was refitted at Boston Naval Shipyard, becoming the first guided missile destroyer in the world.

After being equipped with missiles and realizing "expansion" of firepower, destroyers can even compete with battleships and cruisers. Coupled with the small size, high speed and strong maneuverability of destroyers, the navies of various countries have gradually eliminated battleships and cruisers with high cost, huge targets and easy to be hit. The destroyer eventually moved from the edge of the battlefield to the center of the stage and gradually evolved into the main ship of the navies of various countries.

In the early 1970s, American Ingles Shipyard built the "spruance" class guided missile destroyer, which set off a modular design revolution and pioneered the use of gas turbine power. In the 1980s, the US military modernized this type of warship, with a full displacement of over 8,000 tons.

The improved destroyer has excellent anti-submarine capability, equipped with auk-to-air missile, harpoon anti-ship missile and MK4 1 missile vertical launching system, and can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles. In addition, the ship is also equipped with electronic warfare system and various integrated command systems, which have anti-submarine, air-to-air and ship-to-ship combat capabilities, and have strong strategic deterrence and strike capabilities.

With the increasing tonnage of destroyers, British military enterprises have tried their best to "slim down" them. In 1970s, the British Vickers Company, Cammellard Company and Swan Hunter Company jointly developed the "Sheffield" class destroyer. This destroyer has a displacement of more than 4,000 tons and a length of1.25m, which is much lighter than the American "spruance" class destroyer in the same period.

The "Sheffield" class guided missile destroyer was equipped with advanced fire control radar, air-to-air radar and search sonar, and was equipped with a "Bobcat" helicopter, which was a relatively advanced destroyer at that time.

However, due to its small size and weak armor, it seriously restricts the combat effectiveness of warships.

1982 Falklands War, three "Sheffield" class destroyers participated in the war, two of which were sunk by Argentine missiles.

Under the painful lesson, the "Sheffield" class destroyer can only further improve the radar, install dense array near fire resistance, and the tonnage has also increased by several hundred tons.

Technology empowerment boosts the upgrading of combat effectiveness.

Up to now, destroyers have evolved into multi-purpose medium and large warships and become large surface warships. In the process of developing a new generation of destroyers, the world's military powers are competing to apply new technologies to promote the transformation and upgrading of destroyers to large-scale, information-based, modular and multi-purpose directions-

First, improve the comprehensive integration of shipborne systems and develop towards integration and high efficiency.

With the rapid development of information technology and the continuous expansion of maritime combat tasks, destroyers have become an increasingly dense combat platform with various weapons and sensors.

In the future, destroyers will pay more attention to system integration, and transform their independent shipborne systems into interconnected integrated systems through functional integration and structural optimization. This can not only improve the integration degree of the ship, reduce the occupied space and facilitate the layout design of the ship, but also improve the operation efficiency of the ship, reduce the demand for personnel and the corresponding workload, and greatly reduce the labor cost.

The second is to apply the new power system to form an economic, efficient and stable power model. The power system of the destroyer is related to the performance of speed, endurance, maneuverability and concealment, which is equivalent to the vital "heart" of the ship.

When countries such as Britain and the United States demonstrated the power system of a new generation of destroyers, they comprehensively considered the layout, power, efficiency and redundancy, and finally chose the integrated power system.

The system can coordinate the power demand of the whole ship and improve the efficiency and stability of power utilization. The transmission shaft, gearbox and other equipment in the traditional power mode can be omitted to realize more flexible layout; At the same time, the main noise sources are reduced, the noise signal is weakened, and the stealth effect of the ship is better. The system can also improve the redundancy of the power station and the reliability of power supply, so as to cope with the large-scale power consumption brought by the subsequent shipborne high-power radar, electronic equipment and directed energy weapons, better meet the growing demand for power supply in the future, and enhance the flexibility of naval operations at sea.

Third, update carrier-based aircraft, equip drones, and improve the operational radius of destroyers.

Carrier-based aircraft is an irreplaceable maritime mobile combat force when destroyers perform anti-submarine warfare missions. It can effectively expand the scope of activities of destroyers in anti-submarine warfare and provide important air support capabilities. The SH-60B/F helicopter carried by the American Arleigh Burke class destroyer is planned to be replaced by the MH-60R anti-submarine helicopter.

MH-60R helicopter adopts more advanced electronic system, and the newly added inverse synthetic aperture radar can improve the detection accuracy and sensitivity, and the weapon system has also been upgraded.

In the future, destroyers equipped with drones will become the general trend. Destroyers equipped with drones can improve the surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of mission waters. If the UAV is integrated with the destroyer, it will fill the gap of surface combat capability, make the destroyer have effective monitoring capability in a wide area and realize all-weather situation awareness. This will be more conducive to the rapid command and decision-making of maritime operations and give greater play to tactical advantages.

The fourth is to be compatible with a variety of new weapons and improve the comprehensive combat capability at sea. Russia has stepped up research and development of general vertical launch system, and plans to launch anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine missiles, cruise missiles, air defense missiles and other multi-type missiles in the future, so that the new generation of destroyers are compatible with multi-type weapon systems and have strong comprehensive maritime combat capabilities.

The US Navy is also upgrading its vertical launch system, including missile integration, software upgrade and technology update. The purpose is to enable more weapons to be launched vertically. Not long ago, it was reported that Japan decided to upgrade all eight Aegis destroyers of the Maritime Self-Defense Force by 2027 and integrate Tomahawk missiles into the vertical launch system of destroyers, which aroused widespread concern in the international community.

With the development of ship-borne vertical launch system technology, countries also focus on continuing to expand the general capabilities of destroyers and trying to launch more types of missiles, hoping to improve the single-ship combat capability of destroyers.