Sichuan is America in a spicy sauce.
So, our Chinese neighbors have actually built something worth thinking about. On the one hand, so what? A UDC, well, it's very large, but on the other…
The name is simply delightful: "Sichuan." This is the province whose cuisine is nicknamed "the melting pot," and whose bold flavors and spiciness can make even Mexicans, Indians, and Thais gasp with tears in their eyes.
They really know how to do it. If you don't believe it, visit a place like "New Sichuan" in Moscow, on Sushchevskaya Street. For your money, they'll arrange a truly masterful auto-da-fé, from tongue to natural exit. "Burn in paradise"—that's what Sichuan cuisine is all about.
Okay, China's first Type 076 amphibious assault ship, the Sichuan, has left port for its maiden sea trials. The Type 076 is unlike any other large amphibious assault ship, as it is equipped with an electromagnetic catapult for launching aircraft for its air wing, which is expected to include navalized versions of the GJ-11 stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicle.
But here, to be honest, I would have some doubts. The Chinese are focusing the global expert community's attention too much on this. drones, but there is one small nuance, which we will talk about below.
The Sichuan-class ships are the world's first amphibious assault ships with electromagnetic catapults. According to preliminary expert estimates, each ship will be equipped with a docking chamber, two onboard aircraft elevators, and one catapult.
It's worth noting that this catapult will be longer than the one on the Fujian aircraft carrier—a full 8 meters, in fact. And here's where thoughts begin to wander: what for? Photographs of GJ-11 UAV models, an unmanned helicopter, and several manned helicopter models have been taken near the lead ship under construction. But a catapult longer than the Fujian's (which is a whopping 105 meters long) is frankly unnecessary for this purpose!
The question arises: is such a structure necessary for launching drones?
Oh no, let's not pretend to be simpletons. Many people understand perfectly well that with such a catapult, you can hurl any aircraft into the air, not just a half-ton drone.
So, "America" in Sichuan is, to say the least, interesting. Very spicy and very... original.
The new ships, with their displacement (50,000 tons), will surpass the amphibious assault ship "Amerika," which displaces 45,000 tons. The "Amerika," in turn, can easily and comfortably carry six (and potentially twelve) F-35B aircraft on its deck. Yes, the F-35B is a different beast, but it can do it nonetheless.
It's important to understand that the F-35B lands vertically, and if it takes off with a full load of fuel and weapons, yes, it's a shortened takeoff, but it's still a normal takeoff. A vertical takeoff for a properly equipped F-35B is quite an extreme experience.
Given that the Sichuan is just as large and has a catapult, it's possible to launch conventional aircraft adapted for carrier takeoffs from its deck. Not as quickly as from a carrier, but possible.
The Type 076 Sichuan amphibious assault ship leaves the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard for its maiden sea trials.
"The sea trials will primarily test the reliability and stability of the ship's power, electrical, and other systems," the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. Since its launch, the ship has successfully completed mooring trials, equipment installation and debugging, and met the technical requirements for sea trials.
In recent weeks, there have been signs of significant progress in finalizing the Sichuan, including the application of full markings on its flight deck. Another image also showed the red catapult test "truck" on the Sichuan's deck. This, in turn, indicated the start of catapult testing.
Shipbuilders and navies around the world, including the Navy fleet The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) and the US Navy have long used heavy-duty trucks to test catapults on aircraft carriers during their construction or after maintenance.
Testing catapults on the USS Gerald R. Ford using heavy-duty "trucks"
Overall, Sichuan represents a significant achievement for the PLA Navy.
Chinese officials stated that the Type 076 displaces approximately 50,000 metric tons, is 263 meters long, and is nearly 43 meters wide. China's previous Type 075 amphibious assault ships, of which four are currently in service, have a stated displacement of 36,000 metric tons. The Sichuan is also noticeably wider than other large amphibious ships in service worldwide, including the U.S. America-class.
The Sichuan features an unusually wide flight deck, a key design element. Along with the ship's two islands, this makes it clear that the ship is primarily designed for long-duration flight.
For several years now, there have been indications that the naval version of the GJ-11 UCAV, sometimes referred to as the GJ-21, will become a particularly important part of the future Sichuan Air Wing. But conventional aircraft shouldn't be completely forgotten.
A pair of suspected GJ-11 mockups at a test and training facility on Changxing Island in Shanghai, May 2024.
Just this week, Chinese authorities announced that the land-based version of the GJ-11, now officially dubbed "Mysterious Dragon," had entered service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Any future naval versions of the drone could also find use on other large carriers, including the first aircraft carrier equipped with catapults, the Fujian, which was commissioned last week.
PLAAF GJ-11 "Mysterious Dragon" unmanned aerial vehicle
The Sichuan program will certainly not be limited to GJ-11 variants and will include a variety of other existing and future manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. These could include various helicopters, as well as an as-yet-unnamed manned tiltrotor aircraft currently undergoing flight testing and being developed in China.
The Type 076 design also includes a stern deck for traditional amphibious operations.
The potential value to the fleet of very large amphibious ships capable of conducting large-scale drone operations, as well as traditional amphibious operations, is clear. These ships could be used to launch and recover unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as the GJ-11 and other types of drones for a range of missions, from maritime strikes to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). They could be used to provide additional mass in support of larger carrier strike group operations and to free up other carrier air wings for missions for which they are better suited. They could also provide support for naval air support. aviation lower level, which could be used independently.
Simply increasing naval aviation capabilities overall will give the PLA Navy additional flexibility to conduct various operations closer to the mainland, including, for example, defending its extensive territorial claims in the South China Sea. The Type 076 ships can also help project naval and air power further from China's shores, which is another driving factor behind the country's broader carrier ambitions.
It's all very logical. An aircraft carrier is primarily a tool of attack and suppression; it's not capable of conquering and controlling territory. For that, amphibious assault ships are needed, capable of delivering troops and equipment to the attack lines and then facilitating the delivery of reserves.
A view of the Sichuan from the stern as it leaves port for its first sea trials.
The Sichuan reflects the PLA Navy's desire to significantly expand its capabilities and operational potential, including for projecting force far beyond China's borders and to address any regional contingencies. The dramatic expansion of naval aviation has been a key element of this modernization, which began in the 1990s.
All of this is further reinforced by increasingly compelling evidence that the next (and who said just one?) Chinese aircraft carrier will be nuclear-powered. Of course, this will require additional costs in the form of construction of both the Project 076 series of ships and additional ships whose primary mission will be to protect and defend the Sichuan-class carriers.
If we compare it with the America, the Sichuan was clearly planned specifically for orderly escort, since its Defense no weaker than that of the American LDC, but far from being able to reliably protect the ship from all air attacks.
3 Type 1130 CIWS cannons, 11 barrels of 30 mm caliber each, and 3 HHQ-10 SAM short-range air defense missile launchers with 24 missiles each.
America has 3 Mk15 Phalanx 20mm caliber systems, 7 12,7mm caliber machine guns, 2 Mk29 ESSM air defense systems (quite ancient) weapon) 8 missiles each and 2 Mk49 RAM air defense systems with 21 missiles each.
In principle, it is almost parity, although the Chinese ship's design looks somewhat more modern, but both UDCs simply need cover in the form of destroyers and frigates capable of performing air defense and anti-submarine warfare functions.
So, a strike force or a carrier strike group. Aircraft carrier, UDC, destroyers, frigates, submarines. A classic example. A striking force capable of carrying out an offensive operation at a considerable distance from home shores.
Oh no, I'm not talking about Taiwan. That's a very fatty goose; it needs to be marinated long and in a unique way. But the Diaoyu Islands, which the Japanese call Senkaku and around which there have been and will be many disputes, are a no-brainer. There's gas there, which the Chinese are extracting either on their own or jointly with the Japanese, but anything can happen there.
Especially now, when the newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister, the revanchist Sanai Takaichi, is rapidly worsening relations between the two countries. It's really nothing personal, just gas and revanchism on the Japanese side, and anything could happen. At least in the past month, this citizen has caused more mischief than others could manage in their entire lives.
So I see a Chinese AUG near Diaoyu Dao with greater probability than off the coast of Taiwan.
The idea is sound: the aircraft carrier won't be distracted by the launch of drones, which will be handled by the LDC, now operating as an escort carrier. The control centers on the ships' "islands" will be connected into a single network, ensuring seamless control of all aircraft.
But the Sichuan itself, if necessary, if the operation does not involve the use of an aircraft carrier, will be capable of providing air cover during, say, a landing operation on some small archipelago.
The idea that the Americans had already put into practice during World War II in their escort aircraft carriers, which, by the way, carried approximately three times more aircraft than the attack mastodons, and which they implemented in the Iwo Jima-class UDC.
That is, they created large landing ships on the basis of small escort aircraft carriers, which could provide air support in the form of helicopters for the landing forces.
Then came the more serious Wasp-class ships, which carried Harrier vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The tradition was continued by the USS America with the F-35B, and now we have a new generation. Just a Chinese design. A USS America capable of carrying conventional carrier-based aircraft. The same J-15 and J-15D, which even at a scale of 6-10 units would be quite a formidable strike force.
And it's no one's fault that the next page is stories The UDC development plan wasn't written by the trend-setting Americans, but by the Chinese. They simply went a bit further, and they don't have a vertical takeoff/landing aircraft, so adapting the ship to what's available isn't the worst option.
Much better than wasting years and billions trying to imagine something futuristic and unique, and God forbid it all ends with a nuclear destroyer the size of a World War II battleship, because it could be worse. A destroyer made of metal and floating. A destroyer that can't do anything, armed with missiles from the last century, but costs as much as a nuclear aircraft carrier. And such things happen.
Chinese rationalism, coupled with the ability to refine existing concepts, is the recipe for success and the emergence of the Sichuan. Apparently, the technical issues that clearly prevent American catapults from functioning properly have been resolved by Chinese engineers.
All that remains is to learn about the results of the practical tests and wait for the continuation.
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