China is simultaneously putting three warships into service for the navy anniversary

MELBOURNE, Australia – China put large ships valued at 60,000 tons into service earlier this month and officially launched a new nuclear-powered missile submarine, guided missile cruiser and amphibious helicopter carrier in celebration of its Navy’s 72nd anniversary Service provided.

The unprecedented triple commissioning was carried out at a ceremony at the Yulin Marine Complex near the city of Sanya on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Yulin is the main naval base of the People’s Liberation Army’s South Seas Fleet. The area of ​​responsibility of the fleet lies in the waters of the nearby South China Sea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the ceremony where the Hainan Type 075 (Yushen-class) amphibious helicopter, the Dalian Type 055 (Renhai-class) guided missile cruiser, and the nuclear-powered 094 (Jin-class) ballistic missile Participated Submarine Changzheng-18 joins the PLAN.

The Hainan is the lead ship of a new class of amphibious assault ships that are being built for the PLAN as it continues to enhance its naval capabilities. The helicopter carriers, which are estimated to displace between 35,000 and 40,000 tons, have an uninterrupted flight deck with seven deck spaces for large transport helicopter operations and a borehole dock for launching conventional or air-cushioned landing craft for amphibious landing operations

At least two more Type 075s are under construction at a shipyard in major eastern Shanghai, and their introduction will greatly improve the PLAN’s ability to conduct large-scale amphibious operations – a capability gap for China despite its massive military modernization program.

The Dalian is the second ship of the 10,000-tonne type 055 cruisers, which roughly correspond to the Ticonderoga-class cruisers of the US Navy that are equipped with the Aegis combat system. Each Type 055 is equipped with a phased array radar similar to that of the Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers, and has a total of 112 vertical missile missile cells for surface-to-air, anti-ship, or land attack missile missiles.

At least eight Type 055s are being built at the same time at two shipyards in Shanghai and in the northern Chinese port city of Dalian. Both facilities are also building the smaller Type 052D destroyers to demonstrate the scale of China’s remarkable shipbuilding program.

The Changzheng-18 is now one of two submarines under construction, according to Defense News, bringing the PLAN fleet to six. The Type 094 can carry up to 12 nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles launched from the submarine, CSS-N-14 (JL-2), which are reported to have a range of approximately 4,500 miles.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, China is planning a follow-up class of ballistic missile submarines, known as the Type 096, which is expected to be armed with the ballistic missile fired by the JL-3.