TSAMTO, March 13. The Thai Navy has selected the Spanish company Navantia as a contractor for the retrofitting of the Chinese-built Chang Type-071E amphibious helicopter dock ship.
As reported by Infodefensa.com The budget of the project, the contract for which has not yet been signed, is about 25 million euros.
The Navantia system division will install, among other equipment, the CATIZ combat control system, as well as the DORNA fire control system on the DVKD.
In addition, it is planned to install two remotely controlled Sentinel-30 combat modules from the Spanish EME&E to equip the DVKD with defensive weapons.
The value of the offer submitted by Navantia is still unknown, as is the date of signing the contract. It is also reported that the Spanish company will install the CATIZ SBU on two Thai patrol ships: Pattani and Narathiwat.
As already reported by CAMTO, in September 2019 in Beijing, representatives of the Thai Navy Command and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) signed a contract for the construction of a Type-071E class DVKD. The cost of the order was estimated at 6.1 billion. baht (200 million dollars). This sale was China's first export order for the supply of an amphibious helicopter dock ship.
The design of the Type-071E ship was developed by the 708th Scientific Research Institute of the Chinese State Shipbuilding Corporation CSSC (China State Shipbuilding Corporation) on the basis of the Type-071 DVKD class adopted by the PLA Navy. The ship, which was named Chang, was launched in December 2021. The tests were completed in December 2022, and on January 4, 2023, the Thai flag was raised on the DVKD. The ship was officially handed over to the Thai Navy on April 17, 2023 at Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding and sailed to its home port on April 18. The ship's welcoming ceremony at the Sattahip Naval Base (Chonburi Province) took place on April 26, 2023.
It is expected that the new DVKD will be operated by the Thai Navy as a multi-purpose vessel and used in operations patrolling territorial waters, for training personnel, material support and transportation of troops, as well as providing assistance to victims of natural disasters. The Navy may also use the vessel to support new S26T diesel-electric submarines, the supply of which is currently in limbo due to an unresolved issue with the power plant.
In total, over a 20-year period (2017-2036), the Thai Navy Command intends to purchase four DVKDs for use in amphibious operations, rescue at sea and assistance to victims of natural disasters.
The DVKD for the Thai Navy was built according to a slightly modified design, taking into account the operational experience of the Type-071 ships of the PLA Navy and the requirements of the Thai Navy. According to the Thai Navy, the ship is 210 m long, 28 m wide, has a total displacement of about 25,000 tons, a speed of up to 25 knots, and a crew of 196 people. The DVKD is designed to carry up to 600 troops and up to 60 armored vehicles. The hangar can accommodate up to 4 medium helicopters. The aft take-off platform allows for simultaneous reception of two Z-8 helicopters. The DVKD can carry four Yu Yi class amphibious assault boats (Type-726), allowing for the transportation of two ZBD-05 amphibious assault vehicles.
