Chinese Helicopter Carrier and Type 055 Heavy Destroyer Conduct Amphibious Assault Exercises in Far Seas

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy Southern Theatre Command has deployed a naval task force built around the Type 075 class amphibious assault ship Hainan, which includes the Type 903A class supply ship Luomahu and the Type 055 class destroyer Yan'an, alongside a supporting the Type 054A class ocean-going frigate Yueyang. The task force has conducted multi-subject maritime training, with the Type 055 and Type 075 being among the most high profile new types of warship in the Navy’s inventory providing a wide range of advanced capabilities for far seas operations. Type 075 class ships are among the largest helicopter carriers in the world, rivalled only by the U.S. Navy’s America class ships, and can deploy up to 30 aircraft for a wide range of roles from airborne assaults to anti-submarine warfare. 

Images from the exercises confirm the deployment of air-cushion landing craft from the Type 075 class ship, which can be used to conduct amphibious landings under the cover of both the Type 055 class destroyer’s multi-layered surface-to-air arsenal, and with further support provided by helicopters. Displacing an estimated 40,000 tons, and with a length of 232 metres, each Type 075 class ship can deploy up to 800 personnel and up to 60 armoured vehicles, as well as up to two Type 726 class landing craft. With support from Type 903A supply ships, a task force made up of a Type 075 assault ship and a Type 055 destroyer can operate for several months, with their capabilities being particularly invaluable in the East China Sea and South China Sea where the ability to land forces on contested islands may be critical to a war effort. 

Four Type 075 class ships are currently in service, while an enlarged successor capable of deploying fixed wing unmanned aircraft, the Type 076, saw the first ship of its class launched in December 2024. The Chinese amphibious assault fleet is currently in a league of its own iwith that of the United States, and is expected to eclipse that of the U.S. Navy in size in the 2030s due to its far faster rate of growth. The U.S. Navy fields only two modern America class assault ships, alongside seven ageing Wasp class ships that date back to the Cold War era. Although the United States is currently developing a counterpart to the Chinese Type 055 class destroyer, these are not expected to enter service until the late 2030s, if at all. The Type 055 is currently widely considered the world’s most capable destroyer class, with eight of the vessels currently in service, while two more are expected to join the fleet in 2026.