China is rapidly increasing its fleet. Yesterday, December 22, the portal navalnews.com reported that the second Chinese landing ship of the project Type 075 went to sea trials.
Yesterday morning, the ship sailed from the Hudong Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai and went to sea for the first sea trials. According to unofficial information, its transfer to the PLA Navy is scheduled for early next year.
The second ship of the project Type 075
Image source: navalnews.com
The first ship of the project Type 075 began sea trials in August. It is likely that he has already completed them, as he is now transferred to the PLA Sanya naval base on Hainan island. The third ship is in the final stage of construction, a total of eight landing ships-helicopter carriers of the Type 075 project are planned to be built for the Chinese fleet.
According to various sources, the length of the ships of the Type 075 project is from 235 to 250 m, and the displacement reaches 36,000 tons. In terms of size, the Chinese landing ships are similar to the American UDC types Wasp and America and can carry up to 28 helicopters each. Chinese helicopter carriers in the future will become the basis of the amphibious forces of the PLA marine corps. The Chinese Navy already has universal helicopter carriers (Type 071 and Makassar), but they are equipped with relatively small helipads, while the ships of the Type 075 project have the entire upper deck as a runway.