Chinese media reported that on November 14, 2025, the lead Chinese universal amphibious assault ship Sichuan (Sichuan, 51) of the new project 076 (Western designation - Yulan class) left Shanghai for factory sea trials. The ship was built for the PLA Navy in Shanghai at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard of Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., part of the Shanghai Shipbuilding partnership of the Chinese State Shipbuilding Corporation China Shipbuilding State Corporation (CSSC).
The first departure from Shanghai for factory sea trials of the lead Chinese universal amphibious assault ship Sichuan (Sichuan, 四川省, tail number "51") of the new project 076, 11/14/2025 (c) Xinhua
The construction of the lead Chinese universal amphibious assault ship (UDC) of the new project 076 was carried out at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai presumably from 2023, the ceremony of its launching (decommissioning from the dry dock) with the name "Sichuan" was performed on December 27, 2024.
The new Chinese UDC Sichuan has an estimated total displacement in the range of 45-50 thousand tons. According to published Chinese data, it has the longest flight deck length of 252.3 m and a width of 46 m. Thus, it is comparable in size to the largest American America-type UDC in the world so far, which have a total displacement of about 46 thousand tons and the longest flight deck length of 257 m. In addition, the Sichuan became the world's first UDC equipped with an electromagnetic catapult and an aerial finisher (with three cables), which makes it possible to base horizontal takeoff and landing aircraft on it (although it is assumed that the catapult and the aerial finisher are installed on a Chinese ship mainly for the use of large UAVs).
According to the procurement documentation data for the 076 project, which was being developed at that time, published in May 2020 in China, this ship has an integrated electric power plant (the first of the large ships of the PLA Navy), including two gas turbine generators with a capacity of 21 MW each and six diesel generators with a capacity of 6 MW each.
The UDC of project 076 has an architecture with two separate island superstructures. The ship has a docking chamber, which is believed to accommodate two large amphibious hovercraft of the 726 project. The UDC has three airplane/helicopter lifts, including two large on-board ones. The ship's visible defensive armament includes three 11-barrel 30-mm H/PJ-11 anti-aircraft artillery systems and three 18-charge launchers of HHQ-10 short-range anti-aircraft missile systems.
Earlier, the same Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard of Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. built four smaller Project 075 UDC for the PLA Navy (Hainan, Guangxi, Anhui and Hubei, side numbers "31" to "34"), commissioned in 2021-2024. The UDC of project 075 is estimated to have a total displacement of 35-40 thousand tons, a maximum length of 232 m and a width of 36.8 m. It is not yet known whether the serial construction of the Sichuan-type UDC of the new 076 project will be continued.
The first sea launch from Shanghai for factory sea trials of the lead Chinese universal amphibious assault ship Sichuan (Sichuan, 四川省, tail number "51") of the new project 076, 11/14/2025 (c) Xinhua, CCTV and Chinese web resources
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