What Will China’s New Assault Ship Be Capable of Doing in Battle?

Video Special: Navy Captain Describes Building a Nuclear-Armed Submarine- Fast

By David Axe,The National Interest

A Chinese shipyard has begun assembling the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s first big-deck amphibious assault ship, or “LHD” in U.S. Navy parlance.

The incomplete hull of the first Type 075 LHD apparently is visible in June 2019 commercial satellite images of the Hudong–Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai.

LHDs, which combine the functions of helicopter carriers and transport docks, can deploy landing craft, hovercraft, helicopters and vertical-launching fighters while also transporting hundreds of soldiers or marines.

The U.S. Navy possesses nine Wasp- and America-class LHDs and is building several more. In U.S. service, LHDs not only form the core of amphibious groups, they also can embark large numbers of AV-8B or F-35B jump jets in order to double as light aircraft carriers.

China lacks a jump jet, so the country for now doesn’t have the option of deploying LHDs as carriers. But LHDs in Chinese service could help the PLAN assert Beijing’s claims to disputed China Seas territories as well as join smaller Type 071 assault ships in any Chinese assault on Taiwan.