By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
China refers to its growing fleet of Type 075 Amphibious Assault Ships as “helicopter carriers” in an apparent effort to project air power in support of sea-land attack operations.
Not surprising that a Chinese-government-backed newspaper would emphasize its growing new amphibious assault fleet, which now includes two ships .. the Hainan and Guangxi. Chinese official refer to the new class of Type 075 amphibs as capable of “vertical” attack as well as “horizontal” attack, suggesting increased air attack power aligned with its amphibs.
“Often dubbed a helicopter carrier, the vessel can carry a large number of helicopters in addition to amphibious armored vehicles and tanks, and launch both horizontal and vertical landing missions on islands and reefs, and even land from the sea,” the PRC-backed Global Times states.
The surface-to-air attack networking ability of these new Chinese amphibs is greatly strengthened by the addition of the Z-18J early warning helicopter, Z-9 anti-submarine helicopter and Z-8C transport helicopter, according to a Chinese Communist Party-backed newspaper called the Global Times.
This integrated air-surface, multi-domain tactical connectivity was recently put to the test in an end-of-the-year assessment of the new Chinese amphibious assault ship, the Chinese paper said. The emphasis of the exercise was to refine air-surface joint operations.
“As we practiced more over the past few months and adjusted our approach, we have now achieved a significantly higher [helicopter] sortie rate,” Zhang Yupeng, commander of an aviation detachment on board the Hainan, was quoted by CCTV as saying, according to the Global Times.
This conceptual approach to concepts of operations clearly aligns with US thinking regarding the US Navy’s strategic approach with its emerging America-class amphibious assault ships. However there are a couple of extremely critical variables to consider when it comes to any Chinese ability to truly match or rival that maritime warfare tactics made possible by the US America class.While the Chinese paper may suggest that the new Type 075 amphibs introduce new or unparalleled dimensions of air-surface-and-ground warfare, the US Navy’s America-class amphibious assault ships operate with Osprey Tiltrotor aircraft, vertical-take-off-and-landing F-35B 5th-generation stealth technology and a new generation of US Abrams tank-carrying Ship to Shore Connector landing craft.
China is known to be fast-tracking a new carrier-launched 5th-generation fighter jet, yet the emerging J-31 does not appear to have an F-35B-like vertical take-off capability comparable to the America class. Therefore, the new class of Chinese Type 075 amphibs, it would seem, might be quite challenged to project a 5th-generation air support capability for amphibious operations. Clearly the introduction of 5th-generation stealth attack is reshaping the tactical sphere of amphibious warfare by bringing new possibilities to multi-domain amphibious attack.
Secondly, it does not appear as though the Chinese Type 075 ships operate anything comparable to the US Marine Corps Osprey helicopter, a much demanded platform which not only enables new ranges and payloads available for transport and resupply but also supports Mounted Vertical Maneuver operations wherein amphibious forces can drop in behind enemy lines for surprise attack, mission reinforcement or clandestine hit-and-run ambushes in enemy territory. While much is likely unknown about the new Chinese amphibs, the PLA Navy ships simply may not operate with any kind of similar ability.The Chinese Navy is also further accelerating its Naval modernization with the addition of a new type of “utility landing craft” able to transport armed vehicles, troops and supplies from ship-to-shore as part of an effort to support amphibious attacks.
China is now behind the US Navy America-class amphibs with its fleet of Type 075 amphibs, as the US Navy is well along with three new big-deck amphibs, however China’s well -known shipbuilding enterprise is likely to close the gap quickly.
However, there may be yet another limitation to Chinese amphibious formations when compared with US Amphibious Ready Groups. The Chinese paper says its amphibs “must” operate together in close proximity, something current US Navy and Marine Corps amphibs no longer need to do. This would suggest that perhaps the PLA Navy lacks the networking capacity to connect disaggregated amphibious assault ships in a manner comparable to the US Navy.
“Compared with destroyers and frigates that can operate alone, an amphibious assault ship must work in a group. The Hainan carries air-cushioned landing craft, armored vehicles and helicopters, and can coordinate with destroyers, frigates and other military services and branches in missions,” Zhang said in the article.
US Amphibious Ready Groups and Marine Expeditionary Units are increasingly capable of “dis-aggregated,” yet securely networked operations. While initial configured for closely group operations, technological breakthroughs in networking and surveillance have enabled US amphibs to expand concepts of operation and enable more separate, disaggregated, independent operations for big-deck amphibs, Amphibious Transport Docks and Dock Landing Ships. This has been made possible by advanced antennas, networking connectedness and greater amounts of aviation and command and control built into smaller support ships such as LPDs and Dock Landing Ships. This greatly expands an operational envelope for amphibious operations while not decreasing any ability to operate in closer-in groups.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
