Type 076 landing helicopter dock

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Wikipedia

Class overview
Operators People's Liberation Army Navy
Preceded byType 075 landing helicopter dock
Completed1
General characteristics
TypeDrone carrier-amphibious assault ship
Displacement50,000 t (49,000 long tons) (full load)[1]
Length252.3 m (828 ft) -- 260 m (850 ft) (o/a)[2][3]
Beam45 m (148 ft) -- 52 m (171 ft) (o/a)[2][3]
Installed power
PropulsionIEP
Boats & landing
craft carried		2 × Type 726 Yuyi class LCAC
TroopsOver 1,000 marines[1]
Armament
Aircraft carried
Aviation facilities

The Type 076 landing helicopter dock (NATO reporting name: Yulan-class landing helicopter assault[6]), also known as the Type 076 amphibious assault ship (Chinese: 076型两栖攻击舰) in its native China, is an upcoming class of amphibious assault ship serving the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).[7] Compared to the preceding Type 075, the Type 076 is significantly larger in both displacement and flight deck dimensions; it also features a twin-superstructure design,[8] a stern well dock[9] and a CATOBAR system of electromagnetic catapult and arresting gears for operating light fixed-wing aircraft — likely unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) such as the GJ-21, making it both a landing helicopter dock (LHD) and a drone carrier.[2]

Development

In mid-2020, official request for proposals (RFP) associated with the Type 076 were published on the Internet. Specifications from the RFPs were for a 21 MW gas turbine and diesel powerplants, a medium-voltage direct current integrated power system, and a well deck. The specified aviation equipment included a UAV deck, a munition elevator, a 30-ton flight deck elevator, an electromagnetic CATOBAR system for light aircraft.

The lead ship of this class was constructed at Shanghai-based Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard, with an estimated launch date of early 2025.[2] The lead ship was launched on 27 December 2024, with pennant number 51 and name Sichuan.[10][11][12][13]

Video released by CCTV of Sichuan's launch
video icon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utMO_tFdivU

Design

The Type 076 has a full-length flight deck, an internal hangar, two large aircraft elevators on both sides and one small elevator at the front deck section.[1][5] The ship is intended to operate naval helicopters and UCAVs, or possibly manned fixed-wing aircraft such as the J-35.[1][5][7] Fixed-wing UAVs such as WZ-7 and GJ-11[5] can be launched via an electromagnetic catapult similar in size to the one mounted on the Type 003 aircraft carrier.[1] An arresting gear is fitted on the aft-deck to facilitate the fixed-wing aircraft landing.[14] A floodable well deck is located at its stern, capable of launching amphibious vehicles for landing operations.[9]

The main propulsion of the class appears to employ a gas turbine setup; for this reason, the ship will have a "twin-island" superstructure configuration[2][8] that allows one superstructure dedicated to navigation while the other one focusing on flight operations.[9] Multiple air defense and countermeasure systems are mounted around the ship, including three Type 1130 close-in weapon system (CIWS) turrets, three HHQ-10 short-range surface-to-air missile batteries, and four countermeasure launchers loaded with flares, chaff and sonar decoys.[9]

Type 076 is larger than the preceding Type 075 amphibious assault ship.[9][15] The overall tonnage of the ship was estimated as 50,000 tonnes (49,000 long tons) at full displacement by the Center for Strategic and International Studies,[1] while Chinese state media state that the ship has a displacement of "above 40,000 tonnes (39,000 long tons)".[16]

List of ships

Pennant numberNameNamesakeBuilderLaunchedCommissionedStatus
51[10] Sichuan[10] / 四川 Province of Sichuan Hudong-Zhonghua,
Shanghai[10]		 27 December 2024[10] 2027 estimated Fitting out

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 P. Funaiole, Matthew; Hart, Brian; Powers-Riggs, Aidan; S. Bermudez Jr., Joseph (1 August 2024). "China's Massive Next-Generation Amphibious Assault Ship Takes Shape". Center for Strategic and International Studies.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Luck, Alex (17 June 2024). "Chinese Type 076 Amphibious Carrier Takes Shape In Shanghai, Drone Capabilities Emerge". Naval News. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 陈延伟，王雅文，胡洋，熊言义 (2022). "基于CFD的舰船甲板火灾消防安全评估". 船海工程. 51 (5). Archived from the original on 2023-05-07. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  4. 1 2 张宏、胡洋、熊言义、王雅文、王旭阳 (2022). "舰船发电机舱典型火灾场景仿真分析". 舰船工程. 15 (5). Archived from the original on 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Sutton, H. I. (23 July 2020). "Stealth UAVs Could Give China's Type-076 Assault Carrier More Firepower". Forbes. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  6. ↑ United States Navy Office of Naval Intelligence (April 2024). "PLA Navy Identification Guide 2024" (PDF). Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  7. 1 2 Chan, Minnie (27 July 2020). "Chinese shipbuilder planning advanced amphibious assault ship". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  8. 1 2 Newdick, Thomas (7 October 2024). "China's Monster Amphibious Assault Ship Has Twin Island Superstructures Optimized For Aviation Ops". The War Zone. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Trevithick, Joseph (27 December 2024). "China's Monster Type 076 Amphibious Assault Ship Seen Like Never Before At Launch Ceremony". The War Zone.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "China launches first Type 076 amphibious assault ship". China Military. 27 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Lendon, Brad; Gan, Nectar (27 December 2024). "China launches new amphibious assault ship in a race to rival US military". CNN.
  12. ↑ "China launches new generation assault ship 'Sichuan'". DW. 27 December 2024.
  13. ↑ Xiao, Josh (27 December 2024). "China Launches Largest Amphibious Warship in Show of Naval Power". Bloomberg News.
  14. ↑ Wu, Huizhong (27 December 2024). "China unveils amphibious assault ship that can launch fighter jets". Defense News.
  15. ↑ "China's Type 076 Sichuan is a next-level amphibious assault ship". South China Morning Post. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  16. ↑ Hille, Kathrin (27 December 2024). "China launches biggest amphibious assault ship in projection of military power". Financial Times.