Recently, everyone's attention has been on the Fujian aircraft carrier in Jiangnan Shipyard, and it may not have been found that there are two good news from Hudong Shipyard, and this time the construction of two new ships is nearing completion, and the launch is just around the corner. According to the latest network pictures, in the dry dock of the new Hudong-Zhonghua factory, the Type 076 amphibious assault ship has completed the assembly in sections and started the construction of the upper deck, which is getting closer and closer to completion. And there are 3 other 054AG improvements in the dock are also progressing very fast, it seems that 054B is estimated to be a small batch test, and this batch of 054AG will come in handy.
According to the details of the picture, the hull part of the Type 076 amphibious assault ship has been completed, and now the upper flight deck is under construction, and you can see that the deck is like a large steel plate extending on both sides of the port side, so the deck of the 076 adopts an outward floating style, which seems to be significantly different from the slender style of the 075 deck. Looking at it this way, the deck area will certainly not be small.
Now that the deck style has been decided, the issue of the 076's elevator, which was once very hotly discussed, should also be on the rise. The 075 chose an inboard lift because of the hull balance problems caused by the deck design. The 076's floating deck is likely to choose an outboard lift, which is of great significance to the 076.
As we all know, outboard lifts belong to heavy lifts, which are generally used by aircraft carriers, while Wasp-class and American-class amphibious assault ships also use heavy lifts in order to take off and land F35B fighters. Therefore, the tonnage of the 076's floating deck and outboard heavy lift combination may be close to 60,000 tons, and it is very likely that the electromagnetic catapult will be used to add the J-35.
Moreover, the area of the floating deck is not small, and the J-35 on its board will not be less. According to the quasi-aircraft carrier of the American class or the Izumo-class, which can carry 10-12 F35Bs, the Type 076 carrying 12 F35Bs is not a big problem, no less than the average quasi-aircraft carrier. At the same time, 076 also has the ability to carry a smaller UAV, coupled with the tonnage advantage, it can be said that 076 can completely benchmark the United States and Japan to make these quasi-aircraft carriers, and there is no need to worry about the main aircraft carrier formation being dragged by the other party.
And in the dock where 076 is located, there is a second piece of good news, that is, 3 ships are ready to be completed 054AG in the same frame. In terms of progress, the construction of the superstructure of the first ship has already begun, and it is estimated that it will be completed in June. Others can also be launched before October. And these three ships are only part of the latest batch of 10 054AG and 054 Coast Guard, and some may be built at the Whampoa Shipyard. Of course, some military fans may ask, why is 054A still being built?
In fact, before the first batch of 054B produced 4 ships, many military fans speculated that 054B may not be a "small dumpling" for some reasons, and will continue to build 052DM and 054AG, and it seems that 054AG really seems to have a continuation batch. It seems that the 054B is good, but in terms of low-cost batching, it seems to be better, and it is not fragrant to improve and improve 10 more ships?
Looking at it now, although there are relatively few new models of dumplings this year, the classic old models such as 054AG and 052DM are being continued, and the number and scale are further expanded. Then a number of large-tonnage ships such as 076 and Fujian ships are about to be completed one after another, and from the experience of 075, 076 is at least 3 starts. However, since it is currently the first ship of 076, it may be relatively complicated, especially if you want to install an electromagnetic catapult after outfitting, it may take a little time, although there is only one, but you should remember how long the catapult shed of the Fujian ship was built.
In general, there will be a fundamental difference between the 076 amphibious assault ship and the 075, if the 075 emphasizes the amphibious sea and air landing, then the 076 will focus more on sea power, which can be seen from the design of the floating deck, aviation capabilities will be its priority to take care of. Of course, this is related to the fact that the Asia-Pacific region, Japan and South Korea are actively preparing to build their own light aircraft carriers, and for the Izumo class carrying 10 F35Bs, it must be vigilant and cannot waste the precious main aircraft carrier to entangle with it. As a platform capable of carrying fixed-wing manned UAVs, 076 can be grouped into a separate task force, which can be used to target the opponent's quasi-aircraft carrier and enter the ocean to dominate the sea and escort the sea, which greatly reduces the pressure on the three aircraft carriers, which can be said to complement the last link of the current domestic sea and air system. Now we can really say that we have what the Western Navy has, and what they don't have, we still have.