On January 4, 2023, the official naming ceremony and transfer to the Thai Navy of the landing helicopter dock ship LPD 792 Chang of the Chinese project 071ET, built by the Thai order of the Shanghai shipbuilding company Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., part of the Chinese State Shipbuilding Corporation China State Shipbuilding Corporation, took place in Shanghai (CSSC).
The amphibious helicopter dock ship LPD 792 Chang of the Chinese project 071ET built for the Thai Navy is being tested (without installed weapons), December 2022 (from) www.nationthailand.comWith a total displacement of about 20 thousand tons and a length of 213 meters, the landing helicopter dock ship (DVKD) Chang became the largest ship of the Thai Navy in history, surpassing even the light aircraft carrier CVH 911 Chakri Naruebet, which has been part of the Thai Navy since 1997 (total displacement 11,500 tons, length 183 meters).
Named after the famous Thai island of Chang (Koh Chang), the DVKD Chang became the third ship of the Thai Navy with this name - previously, the Thai Navy had a military transport Chang (in service from 1902 to 1962) and a large landing ship Chang (former American LST 898 Lincoln City, in service from 1962 to 2005 years, in 2012 it was flooded off Chang Island as an artificial reef).
The Chang DVKD was built according to the 071ET project, which is an export version of the previously built Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the PLA Navy eight large DVKD of the Kunlun Shan type project 071 ("Kunlun Shan"), commissioned from 2007 to 2020.
The contract for the construction of the DVKD project 071ET was signed by the Thai Navy with the Chinese Shipbuilding Corporation CSSC on September 9, 2019 in the amount of 6.1 billion baht (about $ 200 million at the then exchange rate). The construction of the ship was started by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in 2020, the launch was made on December 23, 2021, and factory sea trials were started in November 2022.
DVKD Chang project 071ET, like the Chinese basic project, is capable of carrying four permanent-based transport helicopters and has an extensive docking chamber up to 80 meters long. The landing capacity of the ship, according to Thai reports, is up to 800 people. According to Chinese sources, the Thai ship should be additionally armed with a Chinese HHQ-10 short-range air defense missile launcher, in addition to the 76-mm H/PJ-26 universal artillery mount (a copy of the AK-176) and four 30-mm six-barreled H/PJ artillery mounts normally installed on the PLA Navy Project 071 DVKD-13 (copies of AK-630). However, at the stage of sea trials, weapons were not installed on Chang.
The LPD 792 Chang landing helicopter dock ship built for the Thai Navy of the Chinese project 071 is being tested (without installed weapons), December 2022 (c) Chinese social networksNaming ceremony and transfer to the Thai Navy of the landing helicopter dock ship LPD 792 Chang of the Chinese project 071ET, built by the Thai order of the shipbuilding company Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., part of the Chinese State Shipbuilding Corporation China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).
Shanghai, 04.01.2023 (c) Thai Navy and www.nationthailand.com
