Author: Rainbow Kursk
Recently, a very handsome photo was published in a military magazine, and the landing craft of our army's two main air cushion landing boats landed in the same frame!
In front of the photo is the domestically produced 726A "Mustang" air cushion landing craft, while the back is the "European Bison" large air cushion landing craft built with Ukrainian technology. The two kinds of air cushion landing craft compete for wind, the sea speed is faster than the average car, and the huge body can also accommodate the landing equipment of the main battle tank level, which makes the children afraid!
Image: Wild horses and bison in the same frame, which one do you prefer?
Let's first talk about the domestic "Mustang" boat!
The Type 726 "Mustang" hovercraft is a kind of air cushion landing craft similar to the US military LCAC developed by China itself, and many people confuse it with the "European Bison" air cushion landing craft imported from Ukraine.
In fact, the "Mustang" air cushion landing craft is much smaller than the "Bison", and can be easily carried in the Type 071 dock landing ship and the Type 075 amphibious assault ship, the former can carry 4 ships, and the latter can only carry 2 due to the enhanced aviation operation capability. The huge "European Bison" can not fit into the belly of a large amphibious warship, and can only be carried by the semi-submersible ship "East Sea Island".
Photo: Handsome photo of an amphibious landing exercise held in a certain sea area in November 2020, and the "Mustang" group suddenly landed on an island.
Photo: Mustang air cushion landing craft during an amphibious landing exercise.
A "Mustang" air cushion landing craft can carry 80 heavily armed Marines, and a Type 071 dock landing ship can carry 4 "Mustangs", so that a wave of attacks is 320 people, almost a composite battalion strength. If it is a large-scale landing operation and a number of 071 and 075 amphibious warships are dispatched, the scale of the ferry transportation is very considerable.
In addition, the Mustang is capable of carrying heavy armor. It has a maximum load of about 50 to 60 tons and can carry 1 ZTZ96A main battle tank or 2 ZBD-05 amphibious infantry fighting vehicles. When fully loaded, the Mustang can soar 320 kilometers at a speed of up to 80 knots, just the width of the strait.
80 knots is equivalent to 148 km / h, which is much faster than a small car that normally travels in the city!
Photo: The "Mustang" hovercraft galloping at sea, with a maximum speed of 80 knots.
Photo: The "Mustang" air cushion landing craft carrying the 96A main battle tank to rush the beach.
At present, the production is basically an improved type of 726A "Mustang" air cushion landing craft, mainly 2 Sets of Ukrainian UGT-6000 Gas Turbines replaced by 2 sets of domestic QC-70 gas turbines, the maximum propulsion power is close to 7000 horsepower, and finally overcome the power problems in mass production, mass production has been full of horsepower, and actively prepare for future wars!
Photo: A large number of "wild horses" rushing out of the sea is very shocking, and the night landing has become a compulsory course of training!
Let's talk about the "European Bison" air cushion landing craft!
This is the world's largest air cushion landing craft, with a full load displacement of 550 tons, beyond the scope of the boat, so some people call it a small air cushion landing ship.
Compared to the Mustang, the European Bison is much larger, able to transport 3 96A main battle tanks ashore in one go, and more fighters! At the same time, the "European Bison" upholds the strong independent combat capability of mao equipment, not only has amazing loading capacity, but also is equipped with 2 AK630 close-in anti-aircraft guns (domestic models) and multiple rocket launchers, which can collect fire at beachhead targets and attack coastal ground armored groups!
Photo: Our army's "European Bison" large air cushion landing craft.
The "European Bison" behemoth can also run 60 knots at sea, and its impact is amazing!
However, because the "European Bison" is a very special weapon and equipment, expensive and large, although it is very suitable for strait landing operations, it is not used much in peacetime, and it cannot be integrated with amphibious warships such as 071 and 075, only you can run yours, I run mine, and it is difficult to fully integrate into the main landing group.
As a result, the European Bison hovercraft was equipped with a relatively small number. However, adhering to what equipment to fight, we did not shelve these powerful "European bison", but actively played their advantages and used it with the "Mustang" air cushion landing craft to greatly improve the effectiveness of amphibious operations!
Picture: Regardless of the "wild horses" and "bison", it is the king who rushes to the beachhead!