Type 076 Sichuan (NATO "Yulan" class) LHA - Design
The Type-076 provides the PLAN with capabilities and flexibility not found in its previous landing ships, even more than the Type-071 and Type-075. China developed stealth attack drones like the GJ-11, which made its debut at the 2019 National Day military parade, and the Type 076 could be equipped similar drones. The Type 076 could become more like a medium-sized aircraft carrier while still maintaining amphibious landing capabilities. China does not possess a STOVL fighter jet like the F-35B, but it has mastered technologies in electromagnetic launching systems, so some thought it made sense for China if it used electronic catapults to launch aircraft from amphibious assault ships as an alternative to STOVL aircraft to defend itself from hostile F-35B-equipped warships.
If the People's Navy did not intend to follow the technical route of "medium-sized aircraft carrier" and only positions the Type 076 ship as a new type of amphibious assault ship "with stronger aviation combat capability than the Type 075 ship, but its main business is still amphibious landing operations", then there is no need to add an angled deck design, nor is there a need to install so many electromagnetic catapults. It would be enough to install only 1 to 2 catapults that can launch light fixed-wing fighters (such as the carrier-based "Jiao-10" fighter/trainer aircraft, "Attack-11" stealth unmanned attack aircraft and "Rainbow-4" reconnaissance and strike integrated UAV, etc.). Under this idea, the Type 076 ship is expected to retain most of the functions of the Type 075 ship, and can still carry and deploy battalion-level landing troops and related equipment, and its main business will still be amphibious landing operations.
If the Type 076 ship prioritized aviation combat capability and chose to adopt an outward-swinging angled deck and at least two electromagnetic catapults, it would naturally have to give up some of the amphibious projection capabilities based on the Type 075 ship, such as possibly reducing the passenger compartment used to accommodate landing troops, as well as reducing and canceling the dock for carrying the Type 726 air-cushion landing craft and the Type 05 amphibious vehicle. By reducing the amphibious projection capability, the Type 076 warship can obtain a larger hangar for carrier-based aircraft, a fuel tank for aviation fuel, and an ammunition compartment for aviation ammunition, etc. In this way, the function of this warship will be very close to that of a 50,000-60,000-ton medium-sized aircraft carrier, with sea control and maritime air control operations as its main tasks.
For these two technical routes, the former, which is more aircraft carrier-like, is naturally more technologically advanced, but also more complex in structure, and more expensive to purchase and operate, and is suitable for participating in decisive battles at sea. The latter, which is mainly amphibious assault ships, is just the opposite. Its technical difficulty is relatively low and cheaper, but it is not suitable for decisive battles at sea with potential strong enemies, and is still aimed at the needs of amphibious landing operations.
While mainly meeting the needs of amphibious landing operations, the Type 076 ship under the latter technical route can be suitable for maritime aviation operations with medium and low levels of confrontation intensity, but it cannot be compared with serious aircraft carriers such as the "Fujian", "Shandong" and "Liaoning". The structural design, cabin division, and pipeline routing of an amphibious assault ship are much simpler than those of an aircraft carrier. If we want to "elevate" an amphibious assault ship to have capabilities similar to those of an aircraft carrier, we almost have to start over from the original design, redefine the models and locations of the main and auxiliary engines, adjust the size of the transmission system, and redivide the internal structure of the ship, etc. This is basically the same as developing a new aircraft carrier from scratch, and the required man-hours and financial costs will inevitably increase significantly.
The January 2024 photos of the Type 076 amphibious assault ship show that it uses an overhung design, which is why observers confirmed that it is not a Type 075 amphibious assault ship. the sides of the Type 075 amphibious assault ship are vertical, without the overhanging design commonly seen on aircraft carriers. The U.S. "Wasp" class and "America" class amphibious assault ships also have similar appearances. Aircraft carriers need to operate fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft, and require a take-off area for ski-jump or catapult take-off, as well as a landing area for arrested landing, all of which require a larger flight deck. The flared design can obtain a larger deck area under the premise of the same hull and displacement. However, as an amphibious assault ship, the Type 076 amphibious assault ship also chose an outboard design, which shows that it has a greater demand for deck area than the Type 075 amphibious assault ship.
There are several items in the ship's design, including superstructure array antennas, local superstructure composite structures, etc., which mean that the ship's island may adopt an integrated RF system design similar to that of the Type 055 large destroyer, and may be equipped with a large active phased array radar. If the combat command capability of 075 can only be said to be comparable to that of the "America" class equipped with SPY-6, then the 076 is equipped with a large active phased array radar, which definitely shows that it will be equipped with a command and control system that is no less than that of the "Liaoning" and "Shandong" ships. This capability has exceeded that of 075 or the "America" class and has basically reached the level of large aircraft carriers. Of course, the difference may lie in the number of aircraft that the system can command at the same time and other aspects.
The double islands can clearly divide different responsibilities. The island that supervises aviation can reasonably command drones, helicopters and friendly warplanes to avoid chaos in the air. Navigation can focus on coordination with other ship routes and the composition of the entire formation. Therefore, if the two islands can be separated and each performs its duties, it will play an important role in improving aviation and navigation capabilities. Especially in complex situations, such as there are many false targets now, and the opponent's air and sea conditions are very serious. In this state, you can handle your own related situations very well by performing your duties, avoid all kinds of adverse events, and thus bring your sea and air combat capabilities to a new level.
What is even more surprising is the hull module in the upper right corner of the dock. It is the module with the electromagnetic catapult installation slot on the top, and it is still thrown in the corner of the dock. Because the hull of 076 is generally built to a height above the second deck. And that module occupies the height of two decks. In other words, there is no place for this module on 076. What kind of operation is this? This module is grayish white, which is obviously different from the common reddish brown on 076, which may imply that it was not originally intended to be installed on 076. If this module is not for 076, why is it placed in the dock? And it is certain that this module will not be used on the next 076, because the catapult installation slot reserved on 076 now only occupies the height of one cabin. This module with two cabins high will definitely not be installed.
Some military enthusiasts measured based on the January 2024 pictures and concluded that the width of the outer floating section of the Type 076 amphibious assault ship is about 60 meters. In comparison, the maximum width of our "Liaoning" aircraft carrier is 72 meters. However, since the sections of the Type 076 amphibious assault ship have not yet been fully built, there is currently no definite data on its maximum width. As for its length, according to previous satellite images, the length of the waterline is about 240 meters. In contrast, the waterline length of the Type 075 amphibious assault ship is about 220 meters. The maximum length of the entire ship is expected to reach 260 to 270 meters, and the displacement is likely to exceed 50,000 tons, which is equivalent to the conventional displacement or light load displacement of the "Liaoning" ship.
Commercial satellite imagery suggest the length of 076 is about 263-270 meters, which is longer than the USS America amphibious assault ship. There is a discrepancy between the 240-plus meters mentioned by various observers. The website "The Warzone" estimated in the article that the "076" is about 864 feet (263 meters) long and 141 feet (43 meters) wide, which is much larger than the 239 meters and 32 meters of the 075. Even the American-made "America" class is only 855 feet (260.7 meters) long and 106 feet (32.3 meters) wide. In other words, if this data estimate is correct, the "076" will become the world's largest amphibious assault ship after it is put into service. Of course, just as the United States and its allies have always called the Type 055 destroyer a "cruiser", the "076" will not receive the honor of "the world's largest amphibious assault ship" from the American media in the future, but will be called a "drone carrier" or "XX aircraft carrier". It will also be ranked alongside real aircraft carriers such as the Japanese "Izumo" and the British "Elizabeth" class.
The full-length deck of a modern amphibious assault ship is very close to that of an aircraft carrier, so the boundary between the two is becoming increasingly blurred, especially with the emergence of vertical take-off and landing fighters such as the Harrier and F-35B, which makes it quite convenient to switch between them. However, in the eyes of the website "The Warzone", "076" is different. The tonnage is much larger than that of the 075, which provides a spatial basis for the operation of its aviation equipment. Looking at the world, it is second only to large aircraft carriers such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia, and is larger than regular aircraft carriers in countries such as India and France. The vaguely recognizable ship-borne electromagnetic catapult is also the only one of its type in the world, and it can fundamentally solve the problem of the slow speed of amphibious assault ships, the inability to provide effective original speed for carrier-based aircraft to take off, and the low take-off load. The most important point is that the application prospects of ship-borne drones are very bright.
While the US works on new robot ships, China is not far behind as it looks to develop and expand its unmanned networked fleet. It has launched the world’s first “drone carrier”, controlled by AI systems. It will be able to deploy underwater, surface and aerial drones, working to ensure that no adversary can approach it without being detected. While it is just a test bed for this new generation of automated naval ship, more advanced “carriers” are being designed as unmanned technologies are integrated into the manned Chinese navy. An advanced version of the Type 076 Helicopter carrier is being developed with the aim of launching combat drones from its flight deck. While this is a capability being researched by other navies, the Chinese variant will likely carry a naval version of the stealthy combat drone the GJ-11 “Sharp Sword”, which is able to fly at close to the speed of sound, undetected by its enemies. At over 11m (36ft) long and with a range of 4,000km (2,485 miles), it can carry over two tonnes of precision-guided munitions in its internal weapons bays – and is designed to penetrate deep into hostile territory and destroy high-value targets.
China has developed a lot of advanced drones, such as the Wuzhen-7, Wuzhen-8, and Wuzhen-10, which are all high-performance equipment that have seen big scenes and have been tested at sea. They have bright application prospects when used in conjunction with other models to form a drone formation, or in conjunction with the fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft on the Fujian ship. To put it bluntly, technological progress has made it possible for drones to participate in large-scale warfare, and the Russian-Ukrainian war has also proved that drones have become an important force on the battlefield. It’s just that it’s relatively easy to operate drones on land, and they can be quickly equipped on a large scale. Although carrier-based drones have also been developed for many years, they are all small-scale and unsystematic. Now that China’s "076" has stepped forward to take this step, it will definitely go down in history.
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