Type 076 landing helicopter dock
Class of amphibious assault ship
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The Type 076 landing helicopter dock (NATO reporting name: Yulan-class landing helicopter assault[6]), also known as the Type 076 amphibious assault ship (Chinese: 076型两栖攻击舰) in its native China, is an upcoming class of amphibious assault ship serving the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).[7] Compared to the preceding Type 075, the Type 076 is significantly larger in both displacement and flight deck dimensions.[8] The class is the world's third flight deck-based specialized military carrier ship of unmanned aerial vehicles after the Turkish drone carrier TCG Anadolu and the Iranian drone carrier IRIS Shahid Bagheri.[9][10][11][12]
People's Liberation Army Navy | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard |
| Operators | People's Liberation Army Navy |
| Preceded by | Type 075 landing helicopter dock |
| Completed | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Drone carrier-amphibious assault ship |
| Displacement | 50,000 t (49,000 long tons) (full load)[1] |
| Length | 252.3 m (828 ft) -- 260 m (850 ft) (o/a)[2][3] |
| Beam | 45 m (148 ft) -- 52 m (171 ft) (o/a)[2][3] |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | IEP |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 2 × Type 726 Yuyi class LCAC |
| Troops | Over 1,000 marines[1] |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | |
| Aviation facilities | |
It features a twin-island design superstructure,[8] a stern well dock,[13] a CATOBAR system of electromagnetic catapult, and arresting gears for operating light fixed-wing aircraft — likely unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) such as the GJ-21, making it both a landing helicopter dock (LHD) and a drone carrier.[2]
Development
In mid-2020, official request for proposals (RFP) associated with the Type 076 were published on the Internet. Specifications from the RFPs were for a 21 MW gas turbine and diesel powerplants, a medium-voltage direct current integrated power system, and a well deck. The specified aviation equipment included a UAV deck, a munition elevator, a 30-ton flight deck elevator, an electromagnetic CATOBAR system for light aircraft.
The lead ship of this class was constructed at Shanghai-based Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard and was initially expected to be launched in early 2025.[2] In December 2024, the lead ship was launched, with pennant number 51 and name Sichuan.[14][15][16][17] In November 2025, Sichuan started sea trials.[18]
| Video released by CCTV of Sichuan's launch | |
|---|---|
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utMO_tFdivU |
Design
The Type 076 has a full-length flight deck, an internal hangar, two large aircraft elevators on both sides and one small elevator at the front deck section.[1][5] The ship is intended to operate naval helicopters and UAVs, or possibly manned fixed-wing aircraft such as the J-35.[1][5][7] Fixed-wing UAVs such as WZ-7 and GJ-11[5] can be launched via an electromagnetic catapult similar in size to the one mounted on the Type 003 aircraft carrier.[1] An arresting gear is fitted on the aft-deck to facilitate the fixed-wing aircraft landing.[19] A floodable well deck is located at its stern, capable of launching amphibious vehicles for landing operations.[13]
The main propulsion of the class appears to employ a gas turbine setup. For this reason, the ship has a "twin-island" superstructure configuration[2][8] that allows one superstructure dedicated to navigation while the other one focusing on flight operations.[13] Multiple air defense and countermeasure systems are mounted around the ship, including three Type 1130 close-in weapon system (CIWS) turrets, three HHQ-10 short-range surface-to-air missile batteries, and four countermeasure launchers loaded with flares, chaff and sonar decoys.[13]
Type 076 is larger than the preceding Type 075 amphibious assault ship.[13][20] The overall tonnage of the ship was estimated as 50,000 tonnes (49,000 long tons) at full displacement by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.[1] Chinese state media states that the ship has a displacement of "above 40,000 tonnes (39,000 long tons)".[21]
List of ships
| Pennant number | Name | Namesake | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51[14] | Sichuan[14] / 四川 | Province of Sichuan | Hudong-Zhonghua, Shanghai[14] |
27 December 2024[14] | 2026 (estimated) | Sea trials |