China's Type 075 amphibious assault ships 'can form task groups with aircraft carriers, landing ships'

The Type 075 amphibious assault ships of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy can reportedly form task forces by joining up with aircraft carriers, amphibious landing ships and other warships, which experts believed can enhance their amphibious assault capabilities.

A report by China Central Television (CCTV) on Saturday introduced three patterns of Type 075 operations. A task force consisting of a Type 075 amphibious assault ship and an aircraft carrier will have very strong capabilities in amphibious assault as well as seizing air superiority and control of the sea, the report said.

In an amphibious assault group consisting of a Type 075 amphibious assault ship and a Type 071 amphibious landing ship, the Type 075 can serve as the core force, while the Type 071 can take up amphibious transport missions.

A Type 075 can also act as a command ship and the hub of a flotilla consisting of other non-amphibious warships, as they will form a maritime-air joint operational capability.

Just like an aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship will not be working alone in combat and will be accompanied by other vessels in a flotilla, a Beijing-based military expert told the Global Times on Sunday, requesting anonymity.

Combat vessels like destroyers and frigates will provide escort, auxiliary vessels like comprehensive replenishment ships will provide support, and aircraft carriers and additional amphibious vessels will provide extra capabilities, the expert said.

Two type 075 amphibious assault ships, the Hainan and the Guangxi, recently formed an amphibious transport group and received a full training acceptance test featuring joint multidimensional amphibious landing and maritime replenishment drills in an undisclosed area in the South China Sea, with experts saying that such a dual vessel group has achieved combat capability.

China launched a third Type 075 amphibious assault ship in January 2021.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times that these vessels will play important roles in solving affairs including those related to the island of Taiwan and the South China Sea.