The statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are repeated at the end of this article
Just when the mainland's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, announced sea trials, another piece of good news from the Chinese Navy was revealed:
In Shanghai's Hudong Shipyard, the mainland's 076 amphibious assault ship is also under construction in an orderly manner, and according to aerial photos, the warship is expected to have an estimated displacement of about 50,000 tons, and has even caught up with a medium-sized aircraft carrier.
And netizens also speculated that it may have advanced technologies such as electromagnetic catapult, and at the same time, various hints have also appeared about the mainland's 004 aircraft carrier, which has aroused the reverie of many netizens.
01 Amphibious landing ship
In fact, the news about the mainland's No. 076 amphibious assault ship has been around for a long time, and the role of this type of warship is actually very simple: it can be tried as a "quasi-aircraft carrier" that can carry rappelling helicopters, amphibious combat vehicles, and landing troops.
In 2019, the mainland launched the Type 075 amphibious assault ship designed and built by itself, completing a breakthrough in this aspect and further expanding the types of warships of the Chinese Navy.
The displacement of the Type 075 is expected to reach 40,000 tons, which is equivalent to a building more than 20 stories high, more than 200 meters long, and multiple helicopters can be placed on the deck, so it is also called a small aircraft carrier.
Of course, although it is a small aircraft carrier, the 075 is not an aircraft carrier, and there are always people on the Internet who compare it with the Japanese Izumo, thinking that the Izumo has a displacement of only 20,000, but it looks larger than the 075 type, so as to question it in various ways.
In fact, although the amphibious assault ship looks like an aircraft carrier, and many countries do rarely divide it, it is not a real aircraft carrier after all, and its role is not the same.
Amphibious assault ships are generally responsible for transporting combat troops, providing air and surface support for coastal frontlines, and carrying out auxiliary landing operations.
Therefore, although the deck area looks smaller than that of the Izumo, it is larger in height and volume, and the interior can also accommodate various landing craft, amphibious tanks, land combat vehicles and other equipment to complete its own mission, which is very different from a light aircraft carrier like the Izumo.
The reason why the news of 076 has attracted attention this time is not only another enhancement of the mainland's naval strength, but also that the technical configuration of 076 may exceed many people's expectations in the past, even including the West.
02 076
According to various pictures or revelations, the Changxing No. 2 dock of Hudong Shipyard where the Type 076 is located can be said to be quite large, which shows that the volume and displacement of 076 may not be low, according to the estimation of netizens, Kenneng will reach about 50,000 tons.
Such a number can be said to be almost the same as that of the United States-class amphibious assault ships, and according to the parameters of the United States, a ship of this size can carry a variety of vertical lift fighters, fixed-wing drones, combat helicopters and other equipment.
And because the general design is very similar to the aircraft carrier, it can even directly carry carrier-based fighters and be put into use as a light aircraft carrier, and the United States has deployed the F-35 squadron in its amphibious assault ship Jindao, which shows its diverse functions.
However, once this setting is turned on, the news of 076 is even more surprising, because it may be equipped with electromagnetic catapults, and it is also the first amphibious assault ship in the world to carry electromagnetic catapults, which is beyond the predictions of many Western countries.
In fact, this matter has also been imagined by army fans, what is the basis for this? In fact, it lies in the design of the amphibious assault ship itself.
Although it is very similar to an aircraft carrier, it has one important point: the air power is slightly insufficient. Because the runway length of the deck is shorter than that of large aircraft carriers, it cannot provide a take-off environment for carrier-based fighters.
Therefore, most of the amphibious assault ships use helicopters, which leads to the inability to equip advanced carrier-based aircraft, and there may be problems such as insufficient air power, and the United States has been trying to solve this problem.
Therefore, some people speculate that 076 may use electromagnetic catapults with combat drones, because this can effectively solve the problem of advanced fighters boarding ships and make China's naval strength to a higher level.
As for why it is speculated that the mainland will do this, in fact, the main reason is that at present, China should be more mature in terms of electromagnetic catapult technology, and I am afraid that only China can do it.
In fact, in terms of electromagnetic catapult technology, the United States does have to develop it earlier, for example, their Ford-class aircraft carriers have adopted this technology, but judging from the performance of these years, there may be big problems with the technology of the United States.
The specific performance is actually that many Ford-class aircraft carriers have undergone large-scale maintenance, and those under construction have also experienced varying degrees of difficult birth, which can be said to have a high failure rate.
As early as the beginning of the development and use of this technology, Academician Ma Weimin of the mainland said: Leading the way is ahead of the United States. Now it doesn't seem to be an empty word.
03 Change the war
Of course, most of the current news about 076 is true or false through various channels, and it is difficult to really determine what the specific configuration is, these are also confidential, but it does not prevent the majority of military fans from guessing.
First of all, if electromagnetic catapult is adopted, it will undoubtedly be a huge breakthrough, and it may even change some of the ways of fighting in naval warfare today.
For example, the implementation of this technology effectively makes up for the lack of anti-air capability of amphibious assault ships, and can better use it for far-sea operations, trade protection and other actions.
At the same time, the cost of amphibious assault ships is lower than that of aircraft carriers, which means that they are more suitable for modern operations.
Secondly, if the 076 can really be successfully equipped with electromagnetic catapult, it will basically combine the role of amphibious assault ships and light aircraft carriers, and at the same time ensure air power, it can more effectively provide more help to the front-line troops of coastal landing operations.
As for the areas where landing operations may occur, most people must be able to guess it, so the breakthrough in this technology will also be more conducive to the mainland in facing some possible conflicts.
In addition to these, the most obvious feeling for the West is that China's technology is getting closer and closer to them, and even in some aspects they have fallen behind, and China's technology can still make breakthroughs again and again, which is just more terrifying.
Of course, after the completion of the sea trials of the Fujian ship, it has once again aroused the expectations of the majority of netizens for the 004 aircraft carrier, after all, from the Liaoning ship to the Shandong ship, and then to the current Fujian ship, the configuration is basically getting better and better.
In particular, the issue of nuclear power has become the prediction of many military fans, and they have directly asked about the news of 004 on various occasions.
Previously, the political commissar of the mainland navy said with a smile, "I will tell you soon," which also made people's expectations even fuller, and they could feel the mainland's internal self-confidence in military technology.
So when does the big guy think that the mainland 004 aircraft carrier will appear? Will it be nuclear-powered?
Sources of information:
[1] China.com 2024-05-05: "076 Real Body Picture Exposed, 50,000-ton Giant Ship is Tantamount to a Medium-sized Aircraft Carrier, Subverting the Form of Future Warfare"