First PLA Navy Type 075 Amphibious Assault Ship Takes Part in South China Sea Drills

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy recently organized drills in the South China Sea for its first Type 075 amphibious assault ship Hainan making military observers believe that it could very soon gain new combat capabilities.

"Since the commissioning of the Hainan, we have optimized the ship's deployment and continued improving our abilities to operate ship-borne equipment and steer the vessel through a series of exercises. We are pushing forward the integration between crew members and equipment," Senior Captain Chen Chenyang, the chief of staff of the landing detachment on board the Hainan, was quoted by state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) on Wednesday.

"We have formed the capability to operate and manage the platform comprehensively, and laid a solid foundation for rapidly generating new combat capabilities," Chen said.

The vessel has reached comprehensive operation and management capability with its choppers, landing craft and armored vehicles.

Featuring multiple training tasks including the coordinated operation of ship-borne helicopters, air-cushion landing craft and amphibious armored vehicles, the drills focused on optimizing the Hainan's deployment method, improving its command procedures and enhancing its interoperability.

Takeoffs and landings of a group of Z-8C helicopters on the flight deck, the loadings and releases of a Type 726 air-cushion landing craft and a Type 05 amphibious armored vehicle were seen in the CCTV report, which also shows the Hainan sailing together with a Type 901 comprehensive replenishment ship, the report said.

The first Type 075, the Hainan, was launched on September 25, 2019 and commissioned on April 23, 2021. The second ship was launched on April 22, 2020 and is expected to enter service soon, while the third ship was launched on January 29, 2021.