If you are interested in Naval warfare, then you will love the article about the 10 best warships in the world in 2017.
We would like to start off by mentioning that in this article, we will be covering only modern warships. The whole concept of warfare has changed drastically over the years. There was once a time, when battleships ruled the seas, if it had been an article where we covered the most awesome warships of all time, we would have been able to put in the names of the largest warship ever built, like the Yamato, or the Iowa class of battleships. Instead, we will focus primarily on the top destroyers in the world in 2017 or cruisers or even frigates. The most powerful battleships were designed during the second world war, The Bismark, The Yamato and the likes of USS Missouri. They had large caliber guns, which hurled unguided but extremely potent shells at their targets. If the WWII two had not ended when it did, we would have been able to see the largest battleship ever planned become a reality, but thankfully the war did not endure and the horrors it brought ended.
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The biggest warships in the world are no longer the line of battleships, but the aircraft careers. The naval warfare has changed quite a lot since second world war, the modern navies do not rely on large caliber unguided shells any longer to get the job done. Rather precision weapons and surgical air strikes are the modern norms. To pull this job off, the most powerful navies in the world (US navy) employ much smaller but highly maneuverable yet equally lethal modern warships. Their smart weapons can reach targets deep inland, or hundreds of meters below the waves. The destroyers are the workhorse of any modern navy operating today, and in our article we will take a look at some of the most advanced destroyers ever operated by any navy in the world.
If you would like to know more about modern navies, take a look at the 11 Strongest Navies in The World: 2017 Rankings. After all most of our planet is covered in oceans, which is why having a capable navy is important. Warships of the olden days had firepower but they seriously lacked precision, whereas the modern warships have firepower with precision. The most recent development in naval warfare is the ability to make ships stealthy. Exactly like the stealth aircraft, modern warships can deceive the enemy radar, and can sneak up on the enemy undetected. On our list, we will talk about some of the most modern naval vessels in service today or those that are undergoing trials and soon to be commissioned in 2017. These ships are equipped with the most advanced weapons and defenses the world has even seen.
In order to make our list of best warships in the world in 2017, we sought help from a number of websites, (although not all information is available to the public) but we did find quite a lot information regarding these super warships that are able to dominate the modern sea battles. We sought help from websites like, Global Security, Future Battles, Naval Analyses and Military Today. Where we were able to look at opinions from experts on the topic. We based our ranking of these ships on expert opinion from the aforementioned websites, and also a few others.
Without further ado, let’s get the list of 10 best warships in the world in 2017 started.
10. Type 45 destroyer
Role: Guided missile destroyer
Country: United Kingdom
The HMS Defender is a guided missile destroyer tasked with defending against enemy air attacks. It carries state of the art anti-air defense technology, and can engage and destroy supersonic enemy aircraft beyond the visual range. She is also equipped with a slew of defenses against missiles and torpedoes, and can even carry out electronic warfare if necessary. She also carries a couple of Lynx Wildcat combat helicopters for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare.
9. Akizuki Class Destroyer
Role: Fleet Escort
Country: Japan
The Akizuki class is the newest class of destroyers currently in service with the JMSDF (Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force). The idea behind the Akizuki class of destroyers is that they will escort heavier Atago and Kongo class AEGIS destroyers into battle and defend them against air, surface and under sea threats. The Akizuki class destroyers have been developed with a high degree of indigenous technology, and are defensive destroyers extremely capable of dealing with multiple threats simultaneously.
8. Type-52c/ Luyang II Class Destroyer
Role: Anti-Air/Surface Warfare
Country: China
The Type – 52C class of destroyers is basically China’s first attempt at 21 century warships. The Luyang II class destroyers possess the ability to strike both surface and air targets with deadly precision. It can also carryout anti-submarine warfare if necessary. These ships are equipped with long rage missiles, state of the art sensor arrays, and all sorts of modern defenses. Some military experts compare this class of ship to the US built AEGIS destroyers.
7. Horizon-Class Frigate
Role: Guided Missile Frigate
Country: France & Italy
The Horizon class of air-defense frigates is the result of a joint venture by France and Italy. The program to develop a new generation of anti air defensive frigate. The main purpose of this ship is to defend aircraft carriers or other ships from air attacks by enemy aircraft or missiles. This class of ships has been in service since 2010, but there is not really any replacement planned for these vessels as of yet. Italy and France normally have different load outs, so we marked them respectively. Let’s see what else we have on our list of best warships in the world in 2017.
6. Hobart Class Destroyer
Role: Fleet Escort
Country: Australia
The Royal Australian Navy has been looking to acquire the blue water navy for quite some time now, and the addition of Hobart Class Destroyers is just the one step towards their ultimate goal. The 3 Hobart Class Destroyers will bolster the RAN’s anti air capabilities many folds. Hobart Class Destroyers are armed with long range anti air missile systems and advanced radar and other sensors to scan the horizons for potential threats.
5. KD-III Class Destroyers
Role: Fully Multi-role
Country: South Korea
We are half way through our list of 10 best warships in the world in 2017, and at number 5 we have KD-II class destroyers. Thanks to the comprehensive sensor and weapons suite on board KD -III class destroyers, they can take on any type of mission and come complete it with utmost efficiency. However, arguably the ship is a copy of Arleigh Burke Class destroyers built by the United States. A single KD-III class destroyer alone is capable of destroying an entire enemy fleet without ever coming into visual range, and also can attack targets deep inland, thanks to its advanced weapon suite. It can also defend itself against under sea and air threats as well.
4. Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer
Role: Fully Multi-role
Country: United States
The Arleigh Burke Class destroyers are the workhorse of the United States Navy. Although this class of ships entered service with the United States Navy in the early 90s, constant upgrades and improvements have ensured that these ships remained relevant well into the twenty-first century. And this class of destroyers is still extremely capable of handling any type of mission with ease even today.
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3. Admiral Gorshkov Class Frigate
Role: Fully Multi-role
Country: Russia
Third spot on our list of best warships in the world in 2017 goes to Admiral Gorshkov-Class Frigates that are being built with most advanced weapon systems and sensor suites in the Russian arsenal. It is a multi role frigate of which 3 has already been built and other 12 are planned. These frigates can carry out long-range missile strikes, conduct anti-submarine warfare and also can perform escort duties for aircraft carriers and other ships.
2. Atago Class Destroyer
Role: Fully Multi-role
Country: Japan
The Atago class Destroyers are the main surface warships of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. These destroyers are able to take on any role from anti-air defense to ground strike to anti submarine. These destroyers are taking advantage of the US developed AEGIS weapon systems, which makes them a formidable opponent for any modern naval vessel in service today.
1. Zumwalt Class Cruiser
Role: Multi Mission Stealth Ship
Country: United States
The Zumwalt Class Cruisers are developed with stealth in mind, they can perform all sorts of missions, but with the added advantage of extreme stealth. All ships in this list possess stealth capabilities, but not like the Zumwalt class. Zumwalt class ships have a radar cross section as small as a fishing boat, despite it having a displacement of over 14,798 tons.
This wraps it up for our list of the best warships in the world in 2017.
