Chinese navy’s new amphibious assault ship takes part in ‘combat-oriented training’
- Anhui is the third Type 075 to join the fleet and was shown in a video posted on the PLA Navy’s Weibo account
- It is widely believed the vessel would play a key role in the event of a military attack on Taiwan
The Chinese navy says its new amphibious assault ship, the Anhui, has taken part in “combat-oriented training” at sea.
The Anhui was shown in the “realistic” drill in a video posted on the navy’s official Weibo social media account on Thursday. The video revealed the warship’s hull number as 33 but did not say where the training was conducted or when.
It said the amphibious assault ship was “fully upgrading its combat readiness and war-fighting capabilities”.
The new addition means the PLA Navy now has three active 40,000-tonne landing helicopter docks that have entered service since April 2021. The other two Type 075s are the Hainan and the Guangxi.
In contrast, it took the US Navy 11 years to commission three 40,000-tonne amphibious assault ships between 2009 and 2020, one Wasp-class and two America-class.
The Type 075 is the Chinese navy’s largest amphibious assault ship in service. It has a full-length flight deck where six helicopters can operate and the warship can carry up to 30 helicopters for anti-submarine, early warning, combat and other tasks.
With seven levels of dock space, the ship can also carry 35 amphibious vehicles or three air-cushioned landing craft, as well as about 1,000 marines and their equipment.
The warship can also transport as many as 10 main battle tanks, 20 armoured infantry vehicles, and 50 off-road trucks.
Is China’s Type 075 assault ship a mini aircraft carrier in disguise?
Beijing sees the self-ruled island as part of its territory, to be brought under its control – by force if necessary.
Work on the Anhui – named after the southeastern province – began in April 2020 and the ship was launched in January 2021. It was seen leaving the shipyard in Shanghai in late October in a photograph circulated on Chinese social media.
There are reportedly plans to build another five Type 075 warships. Together with its 10 Type 071 ships – eight in service and two more being built – the PLA Navy would have a strong fleet to transport its forces if a conflict did break out across the Taiwan Strait.
The Chinese navy is also developing a landing dock ship, the Type 076, which is believed to be a “drone carrier”.
