On January 29, 2026, CCTV aired footage of the Type 055 destroyer Yanan at sea as crew members tracked approaching aircraft near Taiwan. The sequence did not begin with a launch. It began with watchstanders scanning the horizon, officers monitoring displays, and the ship holding its course while the contact picture grew more complicated. SCMP later reported that the encounter took place in “waters near Taiwan island,” though the broadcast did not identify the aircraft or say exactly when the incident happened.
What made the footage unusual was not just the setting, but the way the scene unfolded. A crew member using binoculars appeared to spot a possible threat and ordered the starboard side to prepare. The destroyer then appeared to detect multiple batches of aircraft changing direction as they moved nearby. Before any countermeasure was visible, the footage emphasized tracking, readiness, and the tightening rhythm inside a modern warship’s combat system.
Officially classified as a guided-missile destroyer, China’s Type 055 is bigger and more powerful than a standard destroyer. Credit: CCTV
The broadcast formed part of a broader CCTV series on Chinese naval power, and SCMP described it as a rare public look at one of the PLA Navy’s most advanced destroyers responding to foreign aircraft. That framing matters because the video presented the encounter not as an isolated alarm, but as a controlled demonstration of how the ship reacts before a confrontation turns kinetic.
The Moment the Destroyer Shifted from Tracking to Response
According to SCMP, the destroyer switched its radars to high power as the aircraft picture expanded. That move increased the search range and prepared the ship for both active and passive jamming. CCTV’s segment also showed the nearby aircraft carrier Shandong dispatching three aircraft to confirm the foreign planes’ presence. The footage then moved from detection to visible countermeasures.
CCTV said this was the first time the destroyer had been shown using “electronic countermeasures” in waters near Taiwan to warn off foreign aircraft. In the video, launchers fired what SCMP called electronic jamming missiles. The report said four such missiles were launched after the ship completed its detection and preparation cycle. The sources do not say the missiles were meant to strike the aircraft directly.
The video marked the first public confirmation of such electronic warfare tactics by Chinese naval forces in the region. Credit: CCTV
That distinction shapes the whole incident. The public sequence was presented as a warning action built around electromagnetic disruption rather than direct engagement. SCMP said the report did not specify which country the aircraft came from, and neither Taiwan, the US Indo-Pacific Command, nor Japan’s Ministry of Defense had issued a public incident report tied to the footage. What viewers were shown, instead, was a ship trying to make itself harder to target.
What the Jamming Missiles Were Designed to Do
The reporting describes two layers of interference. The ship prepared missiles for both active and passive jamming, matching SCMP’s summary of the footage. Active jamming uses directed emissions to interfere with sensors, while passive jamming relies on countermeasures that complicate radar tracking. In practical terms, the destroyer was shown trying to distort the electronic picture around itself.
One of the clearest explanations in the source material concerns passive jamming. CCTV said the destroyer used electronic countermeasures to warn off the approaching aircraft, while SCMP described the missiles as part of that defensive sequence. That fits the logic of the footage, where the ship first widened its radar search, then moved into a missile-based electronic response. The effect was to push the encounter deeper into the realm of sensor denial rather than visible exchange of fire.
A second ship, Nanchang, was shown maneuvering to block foreign vessels near the Liaoning carrier group. Credit: CCTV
The footage aired shortly after a major U.S. arms sale to Taiwan and amid heightened diplomatic friction with Japan. Credit: CCTV
The same package also included another Type 055 destroyer, Nanchang, maneuvering near the Liaoning carrier group to keep two foreign vessels from closing in. That second sequence broadened the message of the broadcast. Rather than showing a single tense moment aboard the destroyer, CCTV presented a wider pattern of fleet operations involving both aircraft approaches and surface shadowing.
Why the Destroyer Drew Attention
The destroyer belongs to a class that sits near the center of China’s current blue-water naval doctrine. SCMP identified Yanan as a Type 055 destroyer, one of the PLA Navy’s most advanced surface combatants. These ships are designed to escort carriers and also operate as independent combat platforms. That helps explain why the footage focused so heavily on sensors and electronic response instead of only on missiles as weapons.
The timing added another layer. SCMP’s report focused on the immediate encounter, but the footage also arrived during wider regional tension involving Taiwan and nearby waters. The broader context does not prove who the aircraft were. It does, however, explain why a state broadcaster might choose to highlight a sequence involving a large destroyer, unidentified foreign aircraft, and a visible electronic warning near Taiwan.
For all the detail in the broadcast, several basics remain unknown. SCMP said the report did not specify where or when the encounter took place, and CCTV’s public page gives only the January 29 air date and a short description referring to the destroyer’s electronic warfare capability. Even so, the footage showed the destroyer moving from detection to radar expansion and then to jamming missiles during an encounter near Taiwan.