China tests new amphibious assault ship that can launch drones, jets

China began sea trials of its most advanced amphibious assault ship on Friday, only a week after commissioning its latest aircraft carrier as part of the rapid modernisation of its navy, which is already the world’s largest.The Sichuan Type 076 vessel, which set sail from Shanghai’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, combines some of the attributes of an aircraft carrier and earlier amphibious assault ships, with the ability to launch both aircraft and landing craft loaded with troops.

It is about half the size of the Fujian, the latest aircraft carrier commissioned by China on Nov. 7, with a displacement of some 40,000 tons. Both ships were indigenously designed and built.

Exact technical specifications have not been released, but amphibious assault ships are typically faster than carriers, which gives them more operational flexibility, but they are more lightly protected against attack, and cannot carry as many or as broad a range of aircraft.

China’s navy already has more ships than the U.S. Navy, but it lags behind in capabilities with fewer aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships and other key vessels. It has embarked on a massive building program, however, as part of leader Xi Jinping’s broad military modernisation plan.

Xi’s stated aim is to have a fully modernised force by 2035 and one that is “world class” by mid-century, which is widely interpreted as one whose capabilities rival those of the United States.One of Xi’s goals is to take the democratically self-governed island of Taiwan, and he has not ruled out the use of force.

Amphibious assault ships would likely be critical for an invasion of Taiwan, though the island is also bristling with missile defence systems that could make any attempt to use them costly.

The Sichuan compares roughly to the U.S. Navy’s America-class and Wasp-class amphibious assault ships. However, it is equipped with the same modern electromagnetic catapult system that has been successfully tested on the Fujian carrier, while the American ships lack such launch systems and instead can only operate helicopters and short or vertical take-off and landing planes.

Official Chinese media reported that the electromagnetic system would allow Sichuan to launch fixed-wing aircraft in addition to helicopters and STOVL and VTOL planes, but it was not yet clear whether it would be limited to drones or whether it could launch crewed fixed-wing aircraft like fighter jets.

That will likely become known during the later stages of the sea trials as the Sichuan’s capabilities are tested.

China has not said how long the Sichuan sea trials are to last.