China Commissions First Type 075 Class Assault Carrier

On April 23rd the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy commissioned its first amphibious carrier into frontline service - one of three Type 075 Class ships which have been launched from Chinese shipyards since 2019. Named the Hainan, the ship displaces approximately 40,000 tons which makes it approximately the same size as continental Europe’s heaviest carrier the Charles De Gaulle or the U.S. Navy’s Wasp Class carriers. The ship had been launched from the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai in September 2019 and began sea trials the following year. The two other ships of its class were subsequently launched in April 2020 and January 2021, and are expected to both be commissioned into service by mid-2022. The Hainan's entry into service increases the size of China's active carrier fleet to three ships, with the heavier 70,000 ton ships Liaoning and Shandong having entered service in 2012 and 2019 respectively.

Type 075 Class ships can reportedly deploy up to 30 small helicopters or up to 20 larger aircraft, and were designed with a floodable well deck to disembark amphibious assault vehicles for amphibious landings. This makes them makes them particularly useful in theatres such as the South China Sea or the Taiwan Strait where amphibious warfare is expected to play an important role. On the basis of what is known of the design, it has been speculated that the Type 075 can potentially accommodate vertical landing capable fighter aircraft in future - which the PLA is thought to currently be developing. The ship's American analogues, the Wasp Class and America Class, are able to operate as carriers for fighter jets with vertical landing capabilities and accommodate the Harrier II and F-35B for this purpose.