China’s Type 075 amphibious assault ships ready for combat, PLA Navy says

First two vessels of the class, named Hainan and Guangxi, complete training tests, including live-fire shooting

It is believed the ships, which can carry 30 helicopters and 1,000 marines, would play vital role in potential military campaign against Taiwan

Reading Time:2 minutes

The Chinese navy said amphibious assault ships Hainan and Guangxi have “graduated” from training. Photo: People’s Liberation Army Navy

Published: 9:00am, 29 Nov 2022

China’s Type 075 amphibious assault ships have quickly become combat ready, the Chinese navy announced on Sunday.

The first two ships of the class, named Hainan and Guangxi, have completed full-course training tests, including live-fire shooting, according to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s social media accounts.

Footage posted on the Chinese navy’s Weibo account showed the two ships carrying out exercises at sea, including crew emergency response, close-in missile interception, on-deck helicopter operations and air-cushioned landing craft delivery.

The two ships had “graduated” from the training phase and were ready for battle, the PLA Navy said, without giving the time or location of the exercise.

“Since the training programme started, the Guangxi has completed all the subjects of training and built up overall operational capability as an amphibious assault platform,” Captain Xu Ce was quoted by China Central Television as saying in another report.

China’s Type 075 ship has a full-length flight deck with room for six helicopters to operate at the same time. Photo: People’s Liberation Army Navy

The ship became fully operational in less than a year – a relatively speedy progression, considering the 40,000-tonne Type 075 is a new class with significant upgrades compared to its predecessor, the 25,000-tonne Type 071 amphibious assault ships.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x