British and Russian warships had a fierce confrontation in the English Channel, with many funny incidents, far behind the level of China and the United States!

Recently, the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom announced that its Type 45 destroyer "Duncan" conducted a 48-hour tracking and monitoring of the Russian "Admiral Kulakov" destroyer crossing the English Channel under NATO command.

However, upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that this confrontation was more like an awkward encounter between warships with specialized capabilities. The Russian "Admiral Kulakov" belongs to the 1155 Project (Soviet-era "Udaloy"-class) destroyers, designed specifically for anti-submarine warfare during the Soviet era. A total of twelve such ships were built during the Soviet period, with the first commissioned in 1980, meaning their basic design is over 40 years old.

The British "Duncan" is a Type 45 destroyer, touted as the most advanced air defense destroyer in the Royal Navy. It is equipped with advanced large sensor systems that can maintain clear aerial situational awareness and serve as a communication and data node. However, this warship, which the UK had high hopes for, has a fatal weakness - it has almost no anti-ship capability.

The most powerful anti-ship weapon on the "Duncan" is a single 4.5-inch Mark 8 naval gun. The previously equipped Harpoon anti-ship missiles have been completely retired by 2023, and the planned Norwegian NSM missiles have not yet been installed.

This is like one being specialized in anti-submarine warfare and the other in reconnaissance, playing a "bumper car" game in the English Channel. The scene is very awkward, with frequent funny incidents, both sides are helpless and can only stare at each other.

In sharp contrast to the UK and Russia, Chinese and American destroyers demonstrate completely different levels of strength. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have 96 vertical launch units, capable of carrying various types of missiles, including air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and land-attack cruise missiles. The 055-class destroyers have gone beyond the traditional concept of destroyers, with a displacement exceeding ten thousand tons, featuring 112 vertical launch units, capable of simultaneously dealing with airborne, surface, and underwater threats.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1846828409286660/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.