Why China’s Type 075 warship is more than it seems – the secret is in its hull number
- China’s largest amphibious landing helicopter dock will operate as a small aircraft carrier platform, say analysts
- But a lack of vertical take-off and landing capability is a technology gap between the Chinese class and US and Japanese amphibious warships
It’s just two digits but the number on the hull of the first of China’s largest amphibious landing helicopter docks (LHD) points to a high value.
Smaller amphibious transport docks already in service have three-digit pennant numbers starting with “9”.
Defence experts said the two digits put the LHD on a par with the country’s flagship aircraft carriers, signalling the important role the docks are expected to play in China’s blue-water navy ambitions.
They said the double-digit identifier indicated that the 40,000-tonne Type 075 LHD’s rank and role was more than important than that of other amphibious warships. That is despite not having ship-borne vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing aircraft similar to the Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey multi-role tilt-rotor warplanes on US warships.
The double-digit pennant number of the Hainan ship is consistent with China’s two aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong – numbered 16 and 17 respectively – according to former PLA instructor Song Zhongping.
