Chinese Type 071 Amphibious Ship

It’s always good to stay current on a potential enemy’s weapons.  Today, let’s take a look at China’s Type 071 amphibious landing platform dock (LPD).

The ship is 689 ft long, 91 ft wide, and displaces around 20,000 tons.  There are four ships of the class in service with two more planned or under construction.  Range is given as 6000 nm at 18 kts (2).

The Type 071 appears to be both a functional and visual equivalent of the US LPD-17 class.  The ship has a flight deck making up the aft 30% of the ship’s length and capable of operating two Z-8 troop transport helos simultaneously.  A hangar can accommodate four helos.  The ship also has a well deck that can house four Type 726 air cushioned landing craft (LCAC).  Side door/ramps located port and starboard below the bridge can also offload vehicles.  Troop carrying capacity is a battalion of several hundred along with storage for up to 18 armored vehicles (1). 

Armament is defensive and consists of a 76 mm gun and four 30 mm CIWS (2).

The ship has very slightly sloped sides but also significant vertical bulkheads and is likely to be only slightly stealthy, at best.  This is curious and somewhat flies in the face of modern naval ship design. 

Type 071

It is worth noting that amphibious ships are purely offensive assets.  This class plus numerous LCU/LST type vessels and the coming Type 075 amphibious class gives the Chinese a significant offensive amphibious capability.  China is clearly gearing up for major combat operations.  The question is who is this capability aimed at?  The obvious answers are Taiwan and the surrounding Pacific Rim countries and, ultimately, the U.S.  Another likely use is to gain control of key strategic locations in Africa.  As I’ve stated repeatedly and as China’s actions have demonstrated, China is intent on nothing less than global domination and has not hesitated to use the threat of military force to achieve that goal.  This enhanced amphibious capability will only increase China’s reach and intimidation.

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(1)War Is Boring website, “Five Ships Of The Chinese Navy You Really Ought To Know About”, Kyle Mizokami, 14-Dec-2013,

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/five-ships-of-the-chinese-navy-you-really-ought-to-know-about-22070c2264b7

(2)http://errymath.blogspot.com/2015/01/launch-of-4th-type-071-amphibious.html#.WgipltTytxA