According to our source in China, the steel cutting of the first Type 075 Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) is expected to take place by the first quarter of 2017.


Unofficial artist impression of what PLAN's future Type 075 LHD may look like


China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) is said to have been awarded the contract and will therefore act as prime contractor. CSSC is one of the two largest shipbuilding conglomerates in China (the other being the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation - CSIC).

CSSC is one of the top 10 defence groups in China, consists of various ship yards, equipment manufacturers, research institutes and shipbuilding related companies, some of the well known shipbuilders in China such as Jiangnan Shipyard and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding are currently owned by CSSC.


Unofficial artist impression of what PLAN's future Type 075 LHD may look like

The Type 075 LHD is expected to have a displacement of 36,000 tons. In comparison, a Mistral-class LHD displaces 21,000 tons full load, the Juan Carlos LHD 26,000 tons and the Wasp-class 40,500 tons.

Type 075 LHD should be able to deploy and accomodate up to 30x helicopters (Z-8, Z-9, Z-18, Ka-28, Ka-31) with 6x helicopter spots on the flight deck and the main elevator located at the stern.

For self protection, the LHD is set to be fitted with 2x H/PJ-11 eleven-barreled 30mm CIWS and 2x HQ-10 short range SAM launchers.

Finally, the contract for the new Type 054B frigates should be signed soon, while the extension work at the Shanghai shipyard will be completed by 2017 (construction of a future CATOBAR aircraft carrier will then be possible at this shipyard).


Type 075 LHD PLAN China 03 Unofficial artist impression of what PLAN's future Type 075 LHD may look like

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