Just Photo: First sighting of the emergency arresting net raised aboard the Type 076 amphibious assault ship Sichuan.

 

is that Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) 868  behind her?

Friday, June 02, 2017

Newspaper scan of the day: Mobile Landing Platform + Zubr

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

China just launched its 98,000t DWT Mobile Landing Platform (MLP).

COSCOL’s 98,000t DWT newbuilding semi-submersible vessel “Guang Hua Kou” was successfully launched on April 28th at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI). The “Guang Hua Kou” will be one of the largest vessels of its type when delivered end of this year.

Expert: Chinese Navy needs bigger semi-submersible ships for open sea operations

Source: China Military OnlineEditor: Yao Jianing

2016-03-28 17:400

BEIJING, March 28 (ChinaMil) – China needs semi-submersible ships with greater tonnage in the future as the country constantly updates its naval equipment, according to Cao Weidong, a military expert, in an interview with CCTV’s Asia Today.

The USNS Montford Point, the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) of the United States, acted as a mobile offshore port and performed all the material transfer tasks at sea during the Exercise Ssang Yong 16 concluded on March 18, a biennial military exercise focused on strengthening the amphibious landing capabilities of the U.S. and its allies.

Cao Weidong said in the interview that China has similar equipment known as semi-submersible ship, but its tonnage is much smaller than that of the USNS Montford Point.

Cao said that as China constantly updates its naval equipment, semi-submersible ships with greater tonnage are needed in the future.

The Exercise Ssang Yong 16 was held from March 7 to 18, 2016. Yonhap News Agency reported that the U.S. sent more than 9,200 marines and 3,000 sailors in the exercise while the ROK sent more than 5,000 marines and sailors. In addition, Australia and New Zealand also sent army soldiers to the exercise.

In the exercise, the U.S. first dispatched a large cargo ship loaded with supplies and logistics equipment to the designated sea area, and then the USNS Montford Point approached the cargo ship and connected to the cargo ship with ropes.

Part of the deck of the USNS Montford Point can be wrapped into the water and therefore large air-cushioned landing craft can directly reach the deck of the ship. Then supplies were lifted from the cargo ship to air-cushioned landing craft and finally transported ashore.

Throughout the entire process, it can be concluded that with the help of the USNS Montford Point, the U.S. military will no longer need ports when transporting heavy equipment and logistics materials from the sea to the front as the whole transportation work can be completed at sea. That is, the MLP acts as a mobile offshore port or base at sea.

The U.S. military officials said that the U.S. military logistics support can only last 15 days after the landing of its Marines in the past but now the mobile port provides logistics support for the troops on land at any time.

U.S. media disclosed that the U.S. had been brewing the strategic vision of sea bases at least for one decade, but didn’t find the right equipment. The construction of the USNS Montford Point started in 2012 and the ship was delivered to the U.S. military in 2013.

Its full load displacement is 78,000 tons and the range exceeds 9,000 sea miles. The U.S. Navy is scheduled to purchase at least two such ships.

Logistics and equipment support are essential for a force that conducts operations at open sea. It is undoubtedly a piece of good news if this supply does not rely on ports.

In fact, the Chinese Navy has similar equipment. The semi-submersible ship Donghaidao officially joined the South China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy on July 10, 2015. This is China’s first semi-submersible ship.

According to the website of the Chinese Navy, Donghaidao is a new semi-submersible ship developed and manufactured independently by China. The ship is 175.5 meters in length and 32.4 meters in width. Its full load displacement exceeds 20,000 tons.

The ship looks similar to the USNS Montford Point and the U.S. has paid great attention to Donghaidao. The U.S. Navy Institute published an article on the official website, saying the Donghaidao ship will significantly improve the amphibious combat capability of the Chinese Navy.

Cao Weidong said that China has its own semi-submersible ship and it looks similar to the USNS Montford Point because they have to perform similar task, the logistics support.

He said that China’s semi-submersible ship can transport logistical supplies and conduct tasks such as maintenance for combat ships and submarines.

Though China’s semi-submersible ship is essentially a logistical support base, its usage is different compared with that of the United States.

First, China will not send its semi-submersible ship to territories of other countries. Instead, China’s semi-submersible ship is for the maintenance and logistics support for its own ships during open sea tasks.

Second, the tonnage of China’s semi-submersible ship is much smaller than the USNS Montford Point, in accordance with China’s naval defense needs and the overall capacity.

Cao concluded that China needs semi-submersible ships with greater tonnage in the future as the country constantly updates its naval equipment.

The author is Huang Zijuan, reporter from the People’s Daily Online. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of the China Military Online website.

Saturday, July 04, 2015

Photos of the day: On board PLAN's Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) 868

Since PLAN's Yuzhao class LPD is not large enough to house Zubr LCAC,  it makes sense for the PLAN to utilize the MLP to launch those "European bison". 

Monday, October 28, 2024

Yet another PLAN semi-submersible vessel surfaced (pun intended)

The rate at which civilian semi-submersibles are being deployed into PLA amphibious operations, someone should really start to reevaluate PLA's sea lift capacity.

 

Monday, August 26, 2024

Yet another civilian dual-use semi-submersible vessel got STUFT-ed.

Back in Aug 17th 2024, there's three-photo article on the "PLA 71st Group Army takes off from a maritime platform during a flight training exercise" (link).  It does not a genius to figure it out why the PLA ground force,  whom the Army Aviation  (LH) organic to, is interested in using semi-submersible vessels to support "cross strait" operations.

 

Friday, August 21, 2020

https://china-defense.blogspot.com/2020/08/multi-type-army-helicopters-conduct.html

Multi-type Army helicopters conduct deck-landing training on civilian semi-submersible vessel

 another STUFT (Ships Taken Up From Trade) example

http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2020-08/21/content_9887106.htm

BEIJING, Aug. 21 -- Recently, an army aviation brigade under the PLA 71st Group Army organized multi-type helicopters to conduct deck-landing training, fuel and ammunition replenishment and emergency repair on a civilian semi-submersible vessel, in a bid to test support capabilities.

According to the training scenario, after the multi-type helicopters flied to the target island, the transport helicopter selected a site for landing with the attack helicopter on alert overhead. Then the transport helicopter carried the mocked wounded soldiers to a civilian semi-submersible vessel for a replenishment-at-sea.

During the training, the multi-type helicopters landed precisely on the deck of civilian semi-submersible vessel and quickly received fuel and ammunition supplies.
There are three helipads in the middle area of the semi-submersible vessel’s deck.

Colonel Xu Yifeng, deputy commander of the army aviation brigade under the PLA 71st Group Army, said that this training has effectively improved the pilots’ deck-landing ability on the offshore platforms and also the maintenance personnel’s comprehensive support capacity, laying a solid foundation for the cross-sea operations of the PLA Army’s helicopters.

It is learnt that the civilian semi-submersible vessel participating in the training is manufactured by the Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. The middle area of the vessel’s deck is equipped with 3 helipads, which can carry and support multiple types of helicopters in active service to conduct cross-sea operations, such as the WZ-10, WZ-19, and Z-8 helicopters. China has so far dozens of dual-use semi-submersible vessels.

Chinese military expert Li Jie said on August 20 that the large semi-submersible ship can take advantage of its large deck and better stability to temporarily serve as a platform to carry helicopters, an offshore parking apron, and a replenishment and repair center when performing some tasks in offshore areas, especially those with air domination. If missions are performed around large islands or reefs, a large semi-submersible ship can also be deployed at each end of the islands or reefs as maritime relay platforms to further enhance the cross-sea combat capability of the helicopters and to increase the helicopters’ combat radius.
Maintenance crew members arm a WZ-19 helicopter with an AKD-9, an air-to-surface missile.

Li also believed that with the improvement of China's shipbuilding technology, the current large-tonnage civilian semi-submersible vessels with relatively advanced technology have great potential for military-civilian integration.

Disclaimer: This article is originally published on globaltimes.cn, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.

 

Monday, March 20, 2017

PLAN commission of the day: Zhen Hua 33 military-civilian dual-use semi-submersible vessel

QIDONG, JIANGSU, Mar. 15 (ChinaMil) -- China’s first 50,000-ton military-civilian dual-use semi-submersible vessel was brought into service in Qidong City, China's Jiangsu Province, on March 14.

The 50,000-ton ship has a total length of 227 meters, with a main deck area of 7,700 square meters. Its Semi-submersible draught is 27 meters. It has an average speed of 14 knots and a maximum cruise range of 18,000 nautical miles, and is perfect for navigation and operations in the open sea.

The semi-submersible vessel also has a large cargo platform area, equivalent to two standard football fields. In addition to its large steel structure and offshore drilling platform, the semi-submersible vessel also has other military functions, including carrying helicopters and fixing damaged war ships.

It is reported that the semi-submersible vessel can be used for berthing transition of a big ship over 10,000 tons, maritime military relay support for ship-borne helicopters, rush-repair and evacuation of damaged warships and so on.

Huang Hao, a deputy director of the PLA Wuxi Joint Logistic Support Center, said that the design and manufacture of this semi-submersible vessel took two years and three months.

It is the largest civilian ship that meets defense requirements. This multi-functional semi-submersible vessel is almost the same size as an aircraft carrier, Huang added.

CV-17 Shandong Leaving Hainan

 A tourist with a camera phone may have just given PLAN watchers their first glimpse of CV-17 Shandong back at sea after a lengthy maintenance period in Hainan.

Recent images circulating online appear to show the carrier departing the Yulin naval complex on Hainan Island, ending what has been roughly five months in dry dock. Satellite imagery had previously confirmed Shandong entered Yulin's carrier-capable dry dock in January 2026, marking the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier underwent major maintenance at the base rather than returning to Dalian.

 

Wednesday, October 01, 2025

Boring logistics Photos Of The Day: CV 17 Shandong and CV18 together at Sanya Naval Base

China's South China Sea Aircraft Carrier Support Base at Hainan:

Here is a photo of Sanya Naval Base on Hainan Island, where bustling construction is underway to make the facility capable of accommodating all three of China’s aircraft carriers simultaneously.

In Chinese, there is an old saying: “兵马未动，粮草先行” literally, “Before the troops move, the food and fodder must go first,” or more broadly, “Logistics precedes maneuver.” This image captures that principle perfectly.

Tuesday, October 08, 2024

Snow bird to Hainan again!

The PLAN's winter "snowbird" to Hainan island, sometimes known as "Chinese Hawaii," continues with two of her aircraft carriers enjoying maitai with small umbrellas on top.   It's definitely a wonderful time.

Hainan Jin Jiaomu Port is where CV16 and CV17 are currently vacationing. 

Friday, January 01, 2021

"Snow bird" to Hainan island seems to be very popular for the folks up the cold-north.

DDG 105 "Dalian",  second of the 055 Renhai class spotted at Hainan together with a host of entourage.   

Military exercises conducted in waters around Hainan Island

Source
    China Military Online
Editor
    Wang Xinjuan

Time
    2020-12-30 10:11:48
http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2020-12/30/content_9960578.htm


BEIJING, Dec. 30 -- According to the notice released by China's Sanya Maritime Safety Administration on December 28, military exercises will be conducted in waters around Hainan Island from December 29, 2020 to January 7, 2021.

HN0129 SOUTH CHINA SEA MILITARY EXERCISES IN AREA BOUNDED BY THE LINES JOINING 17-29.0N 110-02.0E, 17-43.5N 110-18.5E, 17-37.5N 110-24.5E AND 17-23.0N 110-08.0E FROM 290000UTC DEC 20 TO 070800UTC JAN 21. ENTERING PROHIBITED. HAINAN MSA CHINA.

HN0128 SOUTH CHINA SEA MILITARY EXERCISES IN AREA BOUNDED BY THE LINES JOINING 17-33.0N 109-30.0E, 17-33.0N 109-51.0E, 17-58.0N 109-51.0E AND 17-58.0N 109-30.0E FROM 290000UTC DEC 20 TO 070800UTC JAN 21. ENTERING PROHIBITED. HAINAN MSA CHINA.

HN0127 SOUTH CHINA SEA MILITARY EXERCISES IN AREA BOUNDED BY THE LINES JOINING 17-54.0N 108-59.0E, 17-54.0N 109-09.0E, 18-04.0N 109-09.0E AND 18-04.0N 108-59.0E FROM 290000UTC DEC 20 TO 070800UTC JAN 21. ENTERING PROHIBITED. HAINAN MSA CHINA.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

In the meanwhile, the 1st Type075 LPD is enjoying her "snowbird" vacation in the southern tropic of Hainan island

 

PLA Ground Force's MRL ship in Focus

Back on October 10th, I blogged about the PLA Ground Force's amphibious MRL ship LD902 ("L" for Land Force, "D" for East), suggesting that the vessel belongs to the Eastern Theater Command. At the time, there was also a second vessel of a different configuration but similar size operating without visible pennant numbers.

Now, a much sharper set of images has surfaced on the Chinese internet, this time showing LD903, offering our best look yet at this curious class of ships.

The most notable feature is, of course, the rocket armament. The launchers are clearly visible and appear to be arranged in an 8x4 configuration, giving each mount 32 tubes. Multiple launchers can be seen installed on the ship's deck, and the mounts appear capable of traversing left and right as well as elevating to various firing angles.

What remains less clear is whether the launchers can be rapidly reloaded at sea after firing. Likewise, there is still no obvious confirmation of any stabilization system designed to improve firing accuracy while underway. Then again, I'm working from a handful of photos here, not a shipyard tour.

As discussed previously, these launchers are believed to be related to the 122mm navalized multiple rocket launcher system covered here:

The new images also provide a better appreciation of the vessel itself. My rough visual estimate puts it at approximately 70-90 meters in length and perhaps 1,500-3,000 tons displacement. While not particularly large, it is clearly an ocean-going vessel capable of operating well offshore. Assuming the reported 122mm rockets achieve their advertised range, such a ship could potentially provide fire support from as far as 68 nautical miles (126-130 km) east of Fujian, while remaining outside the immediate coastal battlespace.

Interestingly, unlike the U.S. Navy's famous WWII LST(R) rocket ships, LD903 does not appear to be based on a landing ship hull. The vessel lacks the characteristic bow doors and amphibious configuration associated with traditional landing ships. Instead, it looks more like a purpose-built rocket support vessel constructed around a simple commercial-style hull. Judging from the weathering visible in these photos, the ship has likely been in service for some time rather than being a recent launch.

The deck arrangement is particularly revealing. The rocket launchers are mounted on the large open cargo deck aft of the superstructure, suggesting that maximizing salvo size rather than survivability was the primary design goal. There are no obvious signs of sophisticated sensors, expensive combat systems, or elaborate self-defense suites. Defensive armament appears limited to two H/PJ-17 single-barrel 30mm guns, the same weapon commonly found aboard many Chinese auxiliary vessels.

In many respects, this may be the most interesting aspect of the design. The PLA does not appear to be pursuing an exquisite solution here. Instead, it seems to have created a relatively cheap and highly specialized bombardment platform whose sole purpose is delivering large volumes of rocket fire in support of amphibious operations.

That naturally invites comparisons with the U.S. Navy's WWII LST(R)s. Those vessels sacrificed range, precision, and sophistication in exchange for sheer volume of fire. Their job was simple: saturate beaches with rockets immediately before the landing force arrived.

LD903 appears to follow a similar philosophy, updated for the age of long-range guided munitions and modern amphibious warfare. Whether these ships are intended to suppress beach defenses, attack coastal targets, or provide sustained fire support during a Taiwan contingency remains an open question. Nevertheless, the basic concept is familiar: put a lot of rockets on a cheap hull and bring overwhelming firepower to the shoreline.

And that may be the real story here. This is not a glamorous warship. It is not a destroyer, frigate, or amphibious assault ship. It is a specialist tool built for a specific mission.

Given China's enormous commercial shipbuilding capacity, one cannot help but notice that vessels of this type would likely be quick and inexpensive to produce. If the PLA decided it needed dozens of them, the industrial capacity certainly exists to make that happen.

 

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

122mm Naval MRL for Amphibious Firepower: Back in Service, or Never Bothered to Dismount?

 Continuing from the previous discussion on the PLA/NORINCO approach to procurement, particularly the way a successful concept gets replicated, adapted, and squeezed for every possible application, another interesting example recently surfaced. Pun fully intended.

Two photographs circulating on the Chinese internet appear to show a pair of 122mm multiple rocket launchers still mounted aboard a PLA Army Landing Craft Medium (LCM) from the Eastern Theater Command. The vessel itself resembles a downsized version of the Type 073 landing ship medium, but what immediately caught attention was not the hull. It was the rockets.

Some readers may remember the considerable online discussion back in the early 2000s when the PLAN mounted five 25-round 122mm multiple rocket launchers on the Type 053H frigate Jiujiang (Hull 516). At the time, the concept struck many observers as unusual, if not outright bizarre.

My view then was largely the same as it is today.

Four launchers carrying a total of 250 rockets sounds impressive until one starts doing the math. Unlike dedicated shore bombardment platforms, there was no rapid reload capability. A 122mm unguided rocket also lacked the accuracy needed for precision strikes, particularly from a relatively small frigate moving in open water. Against hardened defensive positions, saturation and volume of fire matter, and 250 rockets simply did not seem sufficient to justify the effort.

By comparison, the U.S. Navy's WWII-era rocket support ships were built around overwhelming volume. During amphibious operations in the Pacific, particularly Okinawa, an LSM(R) could carry roughly 480 rockets dedicated solely to supporting troops ashore. That is not fire support. That is landscaping on a military scale.

Eventually the online debates faded away. Jiujiang was decommissioned in 2017, and many observers concluded the entire naval MRL experiment had been a one-off curiosity. An interesting chapter, perhaps, but not one with a future.

Fast forward to today, and these newly surfaced images suggest otherwise.

The appearance of 122mm MRLs aboard PLA Army amphibious craft raises an interesting possibility. Perhaps the concept never died at all.

In fact, there is an equally plausible explanation: the PLA Army and the PLAN may have been experimenting with the concept simultaneously all along. While Jiujiang received most of the public attention, the Army side may have quietly continued operating its own rocket-equipped landing craft with little outside notice.

And if that is the case, there is another factor that should surprise absolutely nobody.  The PLA is famously reluctant to throw away a solution that still works.

This brings us back to the Bv206-inspired articulated tracked vehicle discussed previously. Once the PLA identifies a concept that proves useful, it tends to expand it across every imaginable role. Ambulance becomes command post. Command post becomes logistics carrier. Logistics carrier becomes something carrying a machine gun. The platform never really retires; it simply acquires another mission.

The same logic may apply here.

A rocket launcher mount already installed on a serviceable landing craft still launches rockets. The hull is still operational. The supporting logistics chain already exists. Why spend money removing a capability that still functions?

To borrow a phrase that has probably appeared on more than one procurement briefing somewhere:

"New equipment costs money. Existing equipment is already paid for."

Viewed through that lens, the continued presence of navalized 122mm MRLs aboard amphibious craft becomes far less surprising. It may not represent a revived capability at all. It may simply be a capability that never went away because nobody could come up with a compelling reason to remove it.

After all, this is the same military culture that sees a useful idea and asks, "How many different jobs can we make this thing do?"

Sometimes the answer is an articulated tracked carrier that ends up doing everything short of filing taxes.

Sometimes the answer is a rocket launcher that remains bolted to a landing craft for two decades because taking it off would require a budget request.

And if there is one lesson from watching PLA procurement over the years, it is this: Never underestimate the lifespan of a capability that is still "good enough" and already paid for.

 

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

PLAN decommission of the day: FFG516 "Jiujiang" China's only MLR fire-support frigate

Cal: 122mm
No tubes: 50 x 5 (250)
Weight: 5,000kg
Max effective range: 20km
Max range with extended range rocket: 30km
elevation: 0-60 degrees
Field/angle:+- 120 degrees.
Rate of fire: 50 rounds: 18-20 seconds.
Max change rate of elevation: 16 degrees per second.
Max change rate of direction: 16 degrees per second.