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

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.

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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.

“The mainland has flown advanced reconnaissance and attack drones, such as the WZ-7, CH-4 and other types, across the Taiwan Strait to test Taiwan’s response,” Lu said.

“The tests are designed to calculate how long it takes Taiwanese radar systems to detect the PLA drones before the Taiwanese military scrambles aircraft to respond.

“The operations could provide valuable data for ship-borne drones on the Type 075 LHD.”

Tensions have escalated across the strait since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defied Beijing’s repeated warnings by paying a visit to Taiwan on August 2 and 3.

The PLA launched massive drills encircling the island after her visit, while regular aircraft patrols around the island have also been scaled up.

On September 15, the Taiwanese military confirmed for the first time that the PLA had flown a TB-100 UAV across the median line. Since then, more multiple-role and advanced drones have been detected.

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The PLA is working on plans for a new amphibious assault ship, the Type 076.

Earlier this month, China State Shipbuilding Corporation, the PLA’s key naval contractor, put out an invitation to tender for an experimental mooring drone test platform with a displacement of 15,000 tonnes and 200-by-25-metre double islands on its flight deck.

The tender has prompted speculation about what type of amphibious platform the PLA has in mind.

“The Type 076 might just be a fully functional carrier for aircraft and fixed-wing drones, because neither the Type 075 nor Type 071 can carry that many aircraft,” said a military source close to the PLA Navy, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.

The Type 075 can carry about 30 attack helicopters, nearly 1,000 marines, multiple amphibious hovercraft, battle tanks and armoured vehicles, while the smaller Type 071s have space for weapons, troops and medical equipment.

The source said the role of the Type 076 would be different from the US military’s America-class amphibious assault ship, which is not only able to carry dozens of helicopters and vertical and/or short take-off and landing aircraft, but is also armed with powerful weapons including anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles.

The source said the Type 076 might be designed to “focus only on launching drones and ship-borne fighter jets like the J-15, leaving the Type 075 and Type 071 to take care of amphibious operations”.

“Compared with the American-class marine expeditionary naval vessels, the Type 076 has a cost-saving and easy-maintenance design that was designed for China’s offshore combat,” the source said.

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China has launched three aircraft carriers in recent years as well as advanced destroyers and other warships.

“The aircraft carriers will join with the Type 071, 075 and other warships to create an A2/AD bulwark to block the intervention of US and Japanese forces from accessing the Taiwan Strait in event of a Taiwan contingency,” Lu said, referring to anti-access/area denial tactics.