Hong Kong, January 13 : If Chairman Xi Jinping ever makes the fateful decision to order an invasion of
Taiwan, he will rely heavily upon amphibious warfare platforms of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). This includes equipment such as landing craft, large amphibious vessels and a host of specialist craft.
In recent weeks, China has been visibly boosting its ability to invade Taiwanese beaches with innovative new naval equipment. This includes the formal launching of an enormous landing helicopter assault (LHA) vessel, the likes of which no other navy in the world possesses, and mass production of floating bridge docks to assist
the unloading of ships during beach landings. Both type of equipment are strong indications that China is serious about one day invading Taiwan.
Discussing the amphibious assault ship first, the future LHA Sichuan with pennant number '51' was launched from a massive new dry dock on Changxing Island in Shanghai on 27 December 2024. This was just a day after China startlingly unveiled the existence of two sixth-generation fighter aircraft types plus a Y-20-based airborne early warning aircraft. The enormous warship has been constructed by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, a subsidiary of state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).
State media said the new ship features "significant technological upgrades that place it in a class above its peers". Ironically, the Chinese LHA does not actually possess any direct peers, for it is an amphibious warfare ship that can actually launch conventional fighters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) thanks to an electromagnetic catapult/arresting system.
The future Sichuan thus blends the relative strengths of both an amphibious warship and an aircraft carrier, the first ship in the world to do so. Indeed, it is basically a hybrid amphibious assault vessel and aircraft carrier.
Perhaps its nearest peer is later examples of America-class assault ships of the US Navy (USN), which have a well deck reinstated inside their hulls. The primary difference is that the 46,000-tonne America class does not have any catapult system - that means they can only carry helicopters or vertical take-off and landing aircraft like the Lockheed Martin F-35B.
Displacing more than 40,000 tonnes, the Type 076 is described by China as "key equipment to promote the transformation and development of the PLA Navy and enhance its far-seas combat capability". It is more capable than existing Type 075 landing helicopter dock (LHD) ships, and its sheer size ensures it can carry more equipment and weapons, and have a long endurance.
China has built three Type 075s so far (named respectively Hainan, Guangxi and Anhui), with a fourth currently being fitted out. However, the Type 076 is longer (its flight deck is around 260m long), wider (approximately 52m) and it has improved propulsion with probably a gas turbine, compared to the Type 076. This means the flight deck is nearly the size of three American football fields! Directly beneath the
flight deck is a hangar deck, just like on an aircraft carrier.
It has two superstructures - or double islands - above the flight deck, rather than a single one. This is similar to the two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. Such a design feature simplifies air operations, and likely indicates that a wide variety of aircraft will operate from the Type 076. There is an elevator on each side of the vessel to move aircraft up and down, positioned so that they do not obstruct flight operations.
The expansive flight deck can accommodate helicopters as well as fighters and drones that take off and land conventionally. The electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) is derived from the one aboard the PLAN's new Type 003 aircraft carrier Fujian, which is expected to be commissioned sometime this year. EMALS ensures a higher sortie rate and faster launch speed, which is a benefit to heavily loaded fighters
like the J-15. Only China and the USA have mastered and operationalized EMALS so far, as steam-powered catapults have traditionally been the mainstay for carriers.
Sichuan is extremely well defended too. It has at least three HHQ-10 surface-to-air missile launchers (two at the stern and one atop the forward island), three Type 1130 close-in weapon systems (one either side of the hull plus one at the stern) and four 32-tube decoy/chaff launchers (two either side of the hull). Significantly, the new Type 076 incorporates a well deck, which is an internal deck that can be flooded to permit landing craft and hovercraft to load and unload within the safe confines of the ship hull. The vessel has sufficient space to accommodate a marine corps battalion of more than 1,000 troops, meaning the Sichuan can simultaneously support airborne and amphibious assaults.
State media said, "The navy has continuously enhanced its capabilities in conducting amphibious combat and
multidimensional landing operations." The US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies noted, "The ability to bring considerable air power to bear will make the Type 076 a formidable platform at sea." Furthermore, "Once operational, the Type 076 will serve as a multifunctional combat platform, capable of conducting air operations, launching amphibious landings and providing joint command and control for broader amphibious forces. While it will not fundamentally tip the military balance in the Indo-Pacific, the
introduction of the Type 076 will give the PLA even greater options in bringing combat power to bear, whether in the Western Pacific, the South China Sea or beyond."
Drones, such as the GJ-11 or WZ-7, could be used for a variety of tasks. They can perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or even strike missions since some types can be armed. Other roles include electronic warfare, launching decoys and providing targeting data for cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles.
Ultimately, the Type 076 underscores the far-reaching ambitions of the PLAN to become a global power, as well as to hold Taiwan under threat. The ability to launch and recover armed UAVs could revolutionize Chinese naval air operations for long-range strike and reconnaissance.
Furthermore, this ship illustrates how China is narrowing the technological gap with the USA, and is presenting itself as a clear challenge to American naval supremacy in the Pacific. On the other hand, China has a lot of work ahead of it to integrate aircraft onto the vessel once it is commissioned, and to develop and test doctrines relating tointegration of aircraft and drones within amphibious operations. It is unclear how
many Type 076 ships China plans to introduce into service, but just Sichuan exists at present. It could enter service before the end of 2026, by some estimates.
All this brings into focus the wider shipbuilding activities of China. In fact, 2024 was a relatively slow year for new PLAN vessels, at least as far as China is concerned. Just two Type 054B frigates and two Type 052D destroyers were commissioned, as well as a single Type 927 submarine rescue ship and Type 920 hospital ship. However, this "downturn" should not be taken as a sign of reduced enthusiasm for new naval vessels, but more likely it reflects China's preference for building warships in batches rather than recurring, small-volume orders each year. That is why often five surface combatants might be seen being built simultaneously in a shipyard, meaning they enter service in quick succession as they are finished.
This year the PLAN is set to welcome a greater number of ships. Due to be commissioned in 2025 are the Fujian aircraft carrier (which conducted its sixth round of sea trials last month), the fourth Type 075 LHD, at least four Type 052D destroyers, two Type 055 cruisers, at least four Type 054AG frigates and a Type 093B nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN). Such a flurry of activity would make 2025 second only to 2021 in terms of new hulls being commissioned for the PLAN. Then, in 2026, expected are eight destroyers, up to seven SSNs and perhaps the Type 076 LHA.
Moving to the other revelation noted at the start of this story, an article published by the French-based online Naval News publication revealed the existence of a fleet of "five new special-purpose barges which appear tailor-made for amphibious assault". The author observed at least three, and likely five, such craft at Guangzhou Shipyard International in southern China. "These have unusually long road bridges extending
from their bows. This configuration makes them particularly relevant to any future landing of People's Republic of China forces on Taiwanese islands," Naval News inferred.
The craft are similar in concept to the two Mulberry harbors, which were temporary portable harbors the Allies used after the D-Day landings on France's northern coast in 1944. On their bow, each Chinese vessel has a road span that is more than 120m long, of sufficient length to reach a coastal road or hard surface beyond a beach. Some of the vessels - for several variations of the design exist - have pylons that can be jacked
into position on the seabed to ensure a stable platform, even in rough sea conditions. That means cargo ships and ferries could pull up alongside the open stern of these floating piers and disgorge tanks and vehicles that can then drive directly inland.
Ultimately, they are designed to move large amounts of heavy equipment ashore in short periods of time.
This same Guangzhou Shipyard on Longxue Island is well known for building unusual vessels to support the PLAN. Previous examples include a large uncrewed surface vessel and a light aircraft carrier whose purpose is not yet fully apparent. Naval News observed a smaller prototype of the bridge docks as early as 2022, but the production batch has appeared only recently. The article said their size and number make it implausible they were designed for civilian purposes, and that "the construction of specialist barges like this is one of the indicators defense analysts are watching to provide early warning of a potential invasion".
China can employ, and routinely does in training exercises, a sizeable fleet of roll-on/roll-off civilian ferries. These are the kinds of cargo vessel that could make use of these floating piers. Taiwan has perhaps just a dozen beaches suited to an enemy amphibious landing. Of course, the PLA and Taiwan both know this, so these beaches would be particularly well defended.
The existence of these special bridge docks helps alter the balance in China's favor, for it means the PLA could quickly unload supplies in more unpredictable locations, ones previously considered unsuitable or impossible for landings. Utilizing these platforms, vehicles could easily cross rocky or soft, sandy beaches and swiftly move inland. Such methods would pose a headache for Taiwan's defense planners, as they must now consider a whole new set of factors.
John Culver, a former CIA analyst concentrating on East Asia and currently a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, noted: "Last week's revelation of new portable bridge docks is a signal that the next 18-24 months are likely to see some shocking new PLA capabilities. When Xi Jinping in 2021 allegedly directed the PLA to be prepared to compel Taiwan unification by 2027, it wasn't a war decision, but it wasn't nothing."
"The operational challenges for the PLA are daunting," Culver continued. "There are specific problems it needs to solve for invasion or blockade to be viable. The bridge docks, if produced in sufficient numbers, could enable heavy over-beach operations. Superiority in information, maritime and air operations requires major PLA advances, some of which have been under way for years, as documented in annual Department
of Defense reports."
Culver also warned, "The new US administration is going to confront PLA developments that will drive tensions and blur analytic debates over Chinese capabilities and intentions. Buckle up."
As the launch of the Type 076 LHA and the existence of these mysterious bridge docks demonstrate, China has an insatiable desire to conquer Taiwan. Additionally, China is increasingly advanced in its technological abilities. The world should not be surprised at what China can do when it puts its mind to it, and, in the military sphere, we should be increasingly alarmed as Beijing's aims and methods are exposed.