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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

Will Type 075 assault ship upgrade advance PLA’s capacity to attack Taiwan?

  • Images showing the latest amphibious helicopter platform nearing completion reveal it may include integrated electric propulsion
  • Experts said the development is sooner than expected and is likely to include the same system used by the Fujian aircraft carrier

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Imagery posted on social media of the PLA’s fourth Type 075 amphibious helicopter assault ships in dry dock shows its deck uncapped, despite the hull being nearly completed. Photo: Weibo
Minnie Chan
Experts believe the People’s Liberation Army’s most advanced amphibious assault ship – key to a possible attack on Taiwan – will be upgraded with integrated electric propulsion sooner than expected, greatly advancing its capacity to launch an air assault.
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The latest imagery uploaded to social media in China and overseas on August 31 showed the hull assembly of a Type 075 LHD nearing completion at Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard, a Shanghai-based subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).

According to images of the fourth Type 075 circulating on social media platforms, the main deck of the ship remains hollow, despite the advanced stage of construction.

This is a departure from the building process used in the previous three Type 075 amphibious helicopter assault ships, also built by the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard. The Hainan, Guangxi and Anhui entered service from 2019 through to last year.

Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at the Taiwanese naval academy in Kaohsiung, said the hollow deck hinted that the new platform is waiting for the installation of some specific but important equipment.

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“There are some shed frames and rails rigging out around the big hole on the deck for safety construction needs. The working process is very different when compared with the construction of the previous three ships,” Li said.

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