Screen grab of footage taken at launch of the first ship of the Type 055 class destroyer.
Screen grab of footage taken at launch of the first ship of the Type 055 class destroyer.

China has launched the Type 055 “Renhai” guided missile destroyer — the biggest warship in Asia — since the end of WWII. Popular Science reports the 180-meter-long, over 20-meter-wide ship went down the ways on June 28 at Shanghai’s Changxing Jiangnan Shipyards.

The destroyer displaces about 12,000-14,000 tons at full load, which was last matched in Asia by warships launched by the Imperial Japanese Navy prior to 1945. Several Type 055s are now under construction.