Chinese navy’s newest Type 075 landing helicopter dock looks set to enter service

Images posted on social media of the vessel at a dock in Shanghai may be an indication that the amphibious platform ‘is ready to join the navy any time’

The vessel is believed to be designed to carry attack helicopters and drones

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Pictures of the vessel docked in Shanghai circulated on social media. Photo: Weibo

Published: 12:00pm, 27 Sep 2022Updated: 2:30pm, 27 Sep 2022

The People’s Liberation Army’s third Type 075 landing helicopter dock (LHD) is expected to be commissioned soon as the Chinese military steps up training for possible military action in the Taiwan Strait.

Military enthusiasts have posted pictures of the LHD berthed at a dock in Hudong Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, showing its new pennant number 33, on social media sites such as Weibo and WeChat.

The ship’s hull number means it is “ready to join the navy any time, [and is] just waiting for a formal announcement”, according to Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval analyst. Its two sister ships, the Hainan and Guangxi, have the hull numbers 31 and 32.

The amphibious platform is designed to carry armed attack helicopters and vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles, according to earlier media reports.

In recent weeks, the PLA has been flying advanced drones across the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait and even flying them across the island.

Lu Li-shih, a former naval instructor at the Taiwanese Naval Academy in Kaohsiung, said this was a sign the PLA was starting systematic tests on drones that might be used on the three Type 075 platforms.