China's New Amphibious Assault Ship Is Unlike Any In The West

In December 2024, China's People's Liberation Army Navy unveiled its newest warship, the Type 076, with little public information about its design or capabilities. The Type 076 is a new class of amphibious assault ship, which isn't the same thing as an aircraft carrier despite its similar appearance. Some of the mystery surrounding the vessel was partially lifted on November 14, 2025, when the Sichuan (51) left Shanghai on its first sea trial. This revealed more about the Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), which is unique among its type due to its electromagnetic catapult.

This is a significant technological improvement over steam catapults, but that's beside the point because amphibious assault ships in the West lack catapults of any variety. The LHD ships operated by the United States Navy are not designed to launch aircraft that would require a catapult, making the Sichuan unique in its construction and likely employment. The U.S. Navy's Wasp-class LHDs can launch a variety of aircraft, but when it comes to fixed-wing, it's typically limited to planes like the AV-8B Harrier II or the F-35B Lightning II.

They launch aircraft that don't require a runway, and while they have long flight decks, launching F/A-18s isn't what they're designed for. The Sichuan, on the other hand, can seemingly launch a wider variety of aircraft, showing how China is continuing to step up its naval game in terms of implementing added capabilities to its warships. There's still much to learn about the Sichuan, which is getting a lot of attention from the West.

The Sichuan is unusual in a number of ways. It has a full-length flight deck, which is estimated to measure 827 feet. It displaces at least 40,000 tons of seawater — possibly as much as 50,000 tons. It will be able to launch and recover a wide variety of fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and drones. This makes it closer to a small aircraft carrier than an LHD, but it still leans closer to the latter than the former. It's the second Chinese warship to feature an electromagnetic catapult after the Type 003 aircraft carrier, Fujian.

The U.S. also employs electromagnetic catapults, but as of writing, only the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is equipped with them. These allow for significantly faster launch times of a wider variety of aircraft. The Sichuan will serve as a dedicated fixed-wing-capable drone carrier thanks to its catapult. It will be able to launch a variety of fixed-wing drones, and China has been developing various types in recent years, including stealth models.

It's believed that the new LHD will be able to transport and unload 1,000 fully-loaded marines, all of whom would be supported by a small force of aircraft. Like other amphibious assault ships, Type 076 ships support amphibious assault operations, which is important given China's desire to bring Taiwan under its control. The country has been boosting its amphibious assault capabilities, likely for this purpose. The Type 076 marks a significant advancement in technological and military capability in this area.