1，According to a retired technical officer (POP3) of the Chinese Navy, this project which was started on 20 December 2009 is the first in the industry to apply a new top-down design process.
2，The gain in this new design process is immediate – the displacement of the Type 055 is optimized: From more than 20,000 tonnes initially proposed by manufacturers, actual displacement of the class is only 12,000 tonnes at project launch.
3，The unit cost per ship, including tests and armaments, is reduced by one third to 6 billion yuan (775 million euros), compared with 9 billion yuan (1.16 billion euros) previously.
4，The number of new sensors, which now support a wider spectrum of frequencies, is significantly reduced and most of the functions are provided by software and not by hardware, making future upgrades easier and cheaper.
5，Sources indicate that systems can integrate all sorts of data from other platforms, such as satellites, planes, ships, submarines and ground units. And, equipped with a fleet command system, Type 055 would be able to directly use the weapons of other vessels under its command (in a similar fashion to CEC – Cooperative Engagement Capability of the US Navy)
6，The fact that China does not have military bases overseas (or territories outside the continent) to protect makes a naval-based ballistic missile shield totally useless. For the main short-range and medium-range ballistic missile threats that the country faces – notably from India and North Korea – ground-based means are much more effective today.
7，To date, the Chinese navy plans to equip their first Type 055 with HQ-9B anti-aircraft missiles with a range of 200 km, YJ-18A anti-ship missiles, a new type of medium range anti-aircraft missile and land attack cruise missiles based on the YJ-18 family, ie, practically the same as those already found on Type 052D destroyers. It is also likely that the new anti-submarine missile Yu-8A is among the ship’s arsenal.
8，The large size of Type 055 (close to a cruiser class) is therefore more the result of the need to have a ship with sufficient endurance for global non-stop presence (remember that China does not have a single naval bases operational other than on its coasts). It is also a direct consequence of the good scalability of the platform.
ByHenri Kenhmann在个人网站Eastpendulum.com上发表的评论055的文章，navyrecognition上转译过来
Originally author: pop3 @dingsheng.com
1，据中国海军退役技术官员说，该项目于2009年12月20日启动，是业内第一个采用自上而下的新设计过程的项目。
2，这一新设计过程的收益是立竿见影的——055型的排量是优化的：从最初由制造商提出的20000吨以上，该类的实际排量在项目启动时仅为12000吨。
3，包括试验和军备在内的每艘船的单位费用减少了三分之一至60亿元（7亿7500万欧元），而此前的90亿元（11亿6000万欧元）。
4，新的传感器，现在支持更广泛的频谱，大大减少，大部分功能是由软件提供的，而不是硬件，使未来的升级更容易，更便宜。
5，消息来源表明，系统可以集成来自其他平台的各种数据，如卫星、飞机、舰船、潜艇和地面单位。同时，配备了舰队的指挥系统，055型可以直接使用其他的武器vehhls麾下（以类似的方式对美国海军CEC协同作战能力）
6，事实上，中国没有海外军事基地（或地区大陆以外）保护使海基弹道导弹防御系统完全无用。对于主要的近程弹道导弹和中程弹道导弹威胁，特别是来自印度和朝鲜的地面威胁，今天的地面作战手段更加有效。
7、到目前为止，中国海军计划装备的第一型055 hq-9b防空导弹的射程为200公里，yj-18a反舰导弹，一个新的中程防空导弹和对地攻击巡航导弹基于YJ-18家族，即类型，几乎相同的那些已经发现052D型驱逐舰。也可能是新的反潜导弹yu-8a是船的阿森纳之间。
8、055型大尺寸（接近巡洋舰级）因此更需要对全球不停存在足够的耐力有船的结果（记住，中国没有一个海军基地的操作比其他海岸）。它也是平台良好的可伸缩性的直接结果。