China unveiled the new amphibious assault ship it has been secretly building this past year at a launching ceremony at a shipyard in Shanghai.
The Sichuan, the first Yulan-class landing helicopter assault (LHA) ship, has a massive flight deck as large as three football fields. Once completed, it will be the largest vessel of its kind.
But the ship’s large size isn’t the only detail that sets it apart.
While other amphibious assault ships have only been able to carry helicopters and vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft, the Sichuan is equipped with a carrier-style catapult system and arresting gear that allows it to launch heavier fixed-wing aircraft, the Chinese navy said. Even with the unveiling, mystery still shrouds what is essentially a light aircraft carrier and China’s ambitions for it.
World’s largest amphibious assault ship
Construction on the next-generation assault ship began in early 2024, according to the Pentagon’s annual congressional report on China’s military.
With a displacement of 40,000 tons, satellite images show the Sichuan measures more than 850 feet long and about 170 feet wide, making it considerably larger than its Chinese predecessor, the Type 075, but smaller than the Fujian, the People’s Liberation Army’s newest and largest aircraft carrier.
The Type 076 is also much larger than Japan’s Izumo-class helicopter carriers. While the Sichuan is about as long as the US Navy’s America-class LHAs with a similar displacement, it is more than 60 feet wider.
The Chinese warship’s larger size and deck space allow it to accommodate both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, with additional storage capacity for more personnel and equipment.
Electromagnetic catapult system
Unlike traditional light aircraft carriers, the Sichuan is equipped with a catapult system and arresting gear for the launch and recovery of fixed-wing aircraft — an operative capability typically reserved for aircraft carriers.
“This is not something that we’ve seen before,” Matthew Funaiole, a senior fellow with the China Power Project at CSIS, told BI previously. “No other country has an LHA that has a catapult system on it.”
The electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) is likely similar in design to the catapult aboard the US Navy’s advanced Ford-class supercarriers.
The only warship in operational service that employs EMALS is the US Navy carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which has been undergoing shake-down trials at sea, also features three EMALS-style catapults, but the Sichuan’s catapult trench, which is over 425 feet long, is significantly longer by comparison.
Earlier Chinese carriers had ski-jump-style ramps for launching aircraft without catapults, leaping past steam-power catapult technology to pursue the more advanced electromagnetic launch system.
Operating for a little over a decade, China’s relatively young carrier force could still face a”steep learning curve” in employing modern catapult technology, retired Adm. Raymond Spicer, the CEO and publisher at the US Naval Institute, previously told BI. But the installation of the technology aboard the Type 076 could indicate China’s confidence in the design.
Potential future ‘drone carrier’
The Chinese navy has yet to confirm what kind of air wing will operate aboard the Sichuan, but it could have a future role as a massive drone carrier, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The vessel’s catapult, wider flight deck, and unobstructed runway make it highly capable of large-scale drone operations as China expands its arsenal of UAVs, like the Hongdu GJ-11 stealth combat drone, Guizhou WZ-7 reconnaissance drone, and the CASC CH-4B Rainbow strike UCAV.
‘A substantial step forward’
While the exact timeline for the Type 076 still remains unclear, the Pentagon estimated the ship could join China’s naval fleet by the second half of the decade.
Operating more than nearly 400 naval platforms, China has the world’s largest maritime fighting force but has long been considered a green-water navy, meaning it operates mostly near its shores. Amphibious assault ships and carriers change that equation.
“I think it is as important, if not more important, to emphasize how mind-bogglingly impressive China’s ability to build ships is,” Funaiole said.
While not much is known about the capabilities or primary mission of China’s next-gen amphibious flattops, the CSIS said the Sichuan “represents a substantial step forward” toward the PLAN’s blue-water ambitions, projecting power in waters thousands of miles away.
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