China’s First Type 075 Class Assault Carrier Begins Sea Trials - Two More to Begin Shortly

The first Type 075 Class amphibious assault ship of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)Navy has begun Sea trials, little over ten months after its launch on September 25th 2019. The warship is set to become the third carrier ever to be commissioned by the PLA, and the first of at least three Type 075 Class ships with the second having been launched in April 2020 and the third close to completing construction. The ships provide the PLA Navy with an analogue to the U.S. Navy’s America Class assault carriers, and displace approximately 40,000 tons each. The warships are capable of deploy 20-30 aircraft each, depending on size, and can be fielded in a wide range of roles from supporting amphibious landings to anti submarine warfare and even air superiority, with China widely reported to be developing a specialised vertical landing capable fighter jet able to deploy from these ships. The U.S. Navy notably deploys the Harrier II and F-35B fixed wing fighter jets for carrier operations from similar ships, and the Soviet Navy had developed the Yak-141 with vertical takeoff and landing capacities to an advanced prototype stage for similar purposes. China is set to deploy seven carriers by 2025, with a single Type 075 Class ship and two Type 002 Class supercarriers currently under construction - the latter which will integrate advanced electromagnetic catapult launch systems and be in a league of their own in terms of performance alongside the U.S. Navy’s Gerald Ford Class ships.