The second-generation River-class offshore patrol vessel has returned to her Indo-Pacific deployment (Picture: Royal Navy)
Repairs to HMS Spey have been succesfully completed thanks to the expertise and support of Japan Marine United in Yokosuka, in the Greater Tokyo Area.
The Royal Navy ship, which has been part of an extensive Indo-Pacific deployment, underwent necessary maintenance, described on X as “defect rectification”, to restore her full operational capabilities.
The vessel’s repairs were carried out efficiently, allowing HMS Spey to quickly return to a training exercise.
HMS Spey, the fifth and final of the second-generation River-class offshore patrol vessels built for the Royal Navy, is affectionately dubbed the “last of class – best of class” by her crew.
HMS SPEY recently completed defect rectification with the assistance of our friends in Japan and the support of Japan Marine United in Yokosuka. The Ship has now been fully restored to its capabilities and is back out on the high seas undertaking vital training for the Ship’s Co. pic.twitter.com/7xdEVOcheo— HMS Spey (@HMS_Spey) June 25, 2024
Working closely with Britain’s allies, the ship has been conducting security patrols aimed at combating drug-running, smuggling, terrorism, and other illegal activities.
Since May, HMS Spey has been involved in sea patrols aimed at stopping smugglers from helping North Korea develop nuclear weapons by enforcing international sanctions.
In a first-of-its-kind joint operation, the Royal Navy and its South Korean counterpart have carried out patrols around the Korean Peninsula.
HMS Spey has been assigned no permanent base and instead uses Pacific bases and ports relevant to her current mission.
HMS Spey arriving in Yokosuka in April (Picture: UK in Japan)
Before that, in 2022, the patrol vessel was involved in fishery protection operations around key islands in the Indo-Pacific, safeguarding marine resources and supporting local economies.
While the specifics of the recent “defects” have not been disclosed, Forces News has contacted the Royal Navy regarding the nature of the repairs.
The collaboration between the Royal Navy and its Japanese counterparts highlights the strong international partnerships that the UK has been involved in to maintain maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.
The UK, US and Japan are set to hold regular military exercises together in the region starting next year, in addition to participating in various ongoing exercises, which will see HMS Tamar and HMS Spey remain continuously deployed in the region.
Components of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Group, Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Laboon (DDG-58) and USS Gravely (DDG-107), steam in formation with the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH 550), the Carlo Bergamini-class frigate ITS Alpino (F 594), and the Horizon-class frigate FS Forbin (D 620) in the Red Sea, June 7, 2024. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated with a June 22 statement from Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
THE PENTAGON – Aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) has departed the Red Sea while USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), currently in the Pacific, will leave for the Middle East to continue a U.S. presence mission in the region, USNI News has learned. “[The] Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group departed the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility today and will remain briefly in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility before returning home after more than seven months deployed in support of U.S. regional deterrence and force protection efforts, reads a Saturday statement from Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. “Next week, the TR CSG will depart the Indo-Pacific for the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The United States will continue to maintain a robust presence in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen peace, stability, and deterrence alongside allies and partners.”
Ryder said TR would leave the Pacific following the completion of a planned exercise.
While Ike and its cruiser escort are now in the Mediterranean Sea, the destroyer escorts assigned to the strike group will stay in U.S. 5th Fleet, a U.S. official told USNI News on Friday.
The decision comes as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin elected not to extend the Navy’s second-oldest carrier for a third time, the official confirmed. As of Friday, the carrier had been deployed for more than eight months. USNI News reported earlier this month Ike has deployed for more days than any other U.S.-based carrier for the last five years.
“Time to bring them home,” the official said.
It’s unclear how long Roosevelt, which deployed in January, will need to stay on station before it’s relieved by the next carrier slated to operate in the region. The next carrier on the East Coast preparing to leave is USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), which is still early in its workups ahead of a deployment later this summer, USNI News understands.
The last time a Pacific carrier deployed to the Middle East was in 2021 when the U.S. evacuated troops from Afghanistan. Then Japan-based USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) moved to the North Arabian Sea to provide air cover for the departure of U.S. forces, USNI News reported at the time.
Ike deployed on Oct. 13 and headed to the Red Sea, where it has been part of the U.S. response to the Houthi attacks on commercial ships and posture in light of the war between Israel and Hamas. Ike’s departure comes as tensions between Lebanon-based group Hezbollah and Israel have escalated over the past couple of days. The official told USNI News Ike’s move was not related to the recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
Austin ordered the second extension for the ship in late May. Carriers sent to the Med or the Red Sea have seen multiple extensions since February 2021 when Russia invaded Ukraine to maintain a U.S. presence in the region.
USS Harry S. Truman, which went to the Med as part of the U.S. response, deployed for 285 days. It was replaced by USS George H.W. Bush, which deployed for 257 days.
USS Gerald R. Ford was the next carrier to enter the Med, which then moved over to the Eastern Mediterranean following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza. It spent 257 days on deployment, some of which crossed over with Ike.
Ike is the Navy’s busiest aircraft carrier in the past five years, with the ship deploying in 2020 for 171 days, as well.
While in the Red Sea, Ike and the other ships that made up the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group were part of Operation Prosperity Guardian. They were involved in several Central Command activities that saw them shoot down Houthi drones and weapons. Most recently, aircraft from Ike and cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) helped evacuate crews from commercial ships struck by Houthi weaponry.
USS Mason (DDG-87), one of the destroyers assigned to the Ike Carrier Strike Group transited the Strait of Gibraltar on June 14 and pulled into port at Rota, Spain, and has since left.
Crew of HMAS Stalwart line the ship’s upper decks during its commissioning ceremony at Fleet Base West, Rockingham on Nov. 13, 2021. Royal Australian Navy Photo
The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) two Supply-class fleet replenishment oilers are now out of service, with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles confirming on Friday that HMAS Stalwart (A304) is now nonoperational following engine defects, joining sister ship HMAS Supply (A195) ,which has been nonoperational since March 2023.
Meanwhile, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin wrapped up drills with an RAN amphibious ship on Thursday.
In a press conference on Friday at Osborne Shipyard, Adelaide, Marles said that Supply has had issues that are well known and that his ministry was now aware of issues emerging from Stalwart. “
And my advice on this day, is that HMAS Stalwart [is] not operational. Now, obviously, that does then raise questions, given [that] both ships in the class are not able to operate at this moment,” Marles said, according to a transcript.
Marles said that he had already sought advice from RAN Chief Adm. Mark Hammond, who was also at the press conference, as to when Stalwart and Supply can be expected to be operational again and what needs to be done in the meantime to make sure the functions that were being performed by the ships still met. Marles did not elaborate further as to when the two ships would be back in service and what measures would be taken.
Both Supply and Stalwart provide fuel but also are designed to provide water, spare parts, provisions and ammunition. Each ship’s capacity is 383,050 gallons of JP5 jet fuel, 2,162,611 gallons of marine diesel fuel, 369,840 gallons of fresh water, 297 tons of ammunition and 518 tons of cargo.
Australia’s ABC News broke the news on Tuesday that Stalwart had extended a port visit to Darwin to address engine defects. The Australia Department of Defence had posted on social media channel X on May 23 that Stalwart had docked in Darwin that day, though not the reason for the ship’s docking.
Hammond stated that Stalwart had completed a period of operational assignment and border protection duties, and that the current issue arose during the transit to Darwin for a scheduled port visit. He also said RAN would carry out a technical investigation while also repairing the defect so the ship can sail safely to its home port at RAN Fleet Base West, Garden Island, and undergo a maintenance period in Perth.
The RAN chief said he was unhappy with the situation.
“As I stated at senate estimates about two weeks ago, I’m not happy with the availability of HMAS Supply, in particular. I’m tempering that with an understanding it is a first-of-class vessel, it was built during the pandemic over in Spain. And I’m comfortable that Navantia are working with us on understanding the issues and rectifying [them],” Hammond said.
Both Marles and Hammond spoke after a steel-cutting ceremony for the lead ship of the Hunter-class frigate, which is expected to be operational in 2034.
Supply has been nonoperational since March 2023 undergoing mechanical defect repairs and is expected to be out of service until 2025 because of a defective shaft that was discovered during the initial repair work. During a Senate Estimates hearing on June 6, Hammond said that the issues were caused by a complex defect but Navantia had accepted liability and that Supply would be repaired under warranty.
In the hearing, Radm. Steven Tiffen, head Maritime Sustainment, said that repairs undertaken on Supply over the last year revealed another issue with an element in the intermediate shaft, a 49-foot-long, 21-ton, 1.5-foot diameter shaft located between the gearbox and the propeller shaft. The worse-case scenario for a replacement part to arrive would be 40 weeks, he added.
Hammond said what went wrong was the shaft alignment process while Supply was being constructed in Spain, despite a certification authority verifying the process. Australia was unable to fly people to Spain to conduct their own verification because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is unclear how the nonoperational status of both ships will impact RAN operations as the RAN could reasonably expect to draw on replenishment from partner-nation fleet oilers from the U.S. and Japan in the Indo-Pacific, as well as docking into Singapore while operating in the South China Sea. At the same time, the RAN currently only has one ship, destroyer HMAS Sydney (DDG-42), on a regional presence deployment, though future deployments and sustained presence operations may be affected. The RAN has yet to deploy a naval task group this year for the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF’s) annual Indo-Pacific Endeavour (IPE24) presence and engagement deployment, which also usually involves one of the Supply-class ships. Plans for IPE24 may have to be revised in light of the current situation.
Sydney left its homeport at RAN Fleet Base East in its namesake city on June 10. An Australian Defence Department release on Thursday said the destroyer will participate in the Rim of the Pacific 2024 exercise that runs from June 27 to Aug. 1 in and around the Hawaiian Islands, Exercise Pacific Dragon and Operation Argos—the ADF’s contribution to international efforts to enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea. Pacific Dragon is a biennial multinational air and missile defense exercise held in Hawaii, usually following after RIMPAC.
In Australia on Thursday, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) 24.3 concluded the Wet and Dry Exercise Rehearsal (WADER) aboard RAN amphibious assault ship HMAS Adelaide (L01), which began on June 2.
A Marine Corps release said that the exercise aimed to enhance amphibious capabilities and strengthen the partnership between the U.S. and ADF and that 47 Marines and four Sailors with MRF-D 24.3 were embarked on Adelaide alongside the Australian Amphibious Force (AAF) to participate in a comprehensive training mission designed to enhance joint operational capabilities.
The release also ssaid that the early stages of WADER included MV-22B Osprey deck-landing qualifications executed by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 268 (Reinforced).
“What a great opportunity it is to have our pilots conduct landings on the HMAS Adelaide, further strengthening our professional relationship with the Australian Defence Force,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Brandon Pope, the commanding officer of VMM-268, MRF-D 24.3, in the release. “The return to flight for the squadron has been a methodical approach to re-establish the aircrew proficiency required to execute training events such as this one safely.”
One of the key components of WADER was the integration of fires capabilities, which involved coordination between MRF-D’s littoral fires cell and the AAF’s Supporting Arms Coordination Center, according to the release. Medical training involving U.S. Navy medical subject matter expert exchanges with ADF medical personnel aboard Adelaide were also carried out. The culmination of the exercise included a significant ship-to-shore movement, which tested and demonstrated the practical aspects of amphibious ship-to-shore operations, stated the release
The U.S. military has ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the aircraft carrier leading America’s response to the Houthi attacks, to return home after a twice-extended tour. (Information Technician Second Class Ruskin Naval/U.S. Navy)
By Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the aircraft carrier leading America’s response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, is returning home after an over eight-month deployment in combat that the Navy says is its most intense since World War II.
The San Diego-based USS Theodore Roosevelt will take the Eisenhower’s place after a scheduled exercise in the Indo-Pacific, said Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder on Saturday.
The Pentagon is wrestling over when the Eisenhower and its strike group should return home. And if they do return — what can replace them?
By Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press and Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
The Roosevelt anchored Saturday in Busan, South Korea, amid Seoul’s ongoing tensions with North Korea.
The Eisenhower, based in Norfolk, Virginia, had already reached the Mediterranean Sea, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ship movements. Flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed a Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopter associated with the Eisenhower flying above the Mediterranean just off the coast of Port Said, Egypt, on Saturday night.
The Eisenhower, which had its deployment extended twice, had repeatedly been targeted by false attack claims by the Houthis during its time in the Red Sea. Saree on Saturday night claimed another attack on the carrier — but again provided no evidence to support it as the ship already had left the area. Central Command called the claim “categorically false.”
Meanwhile, an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a commercial ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden but apparently caused no damage, authorities said Saturday, in the latest strike on the shipping lane by the group.
The Tutor’s sinking marked what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign of strikes on ships in the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
The captain of the ship targeted late Friday saw “explosions in the vicinity of the vessel,” the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. A later briefing by the U.S.-overseen Joint Maritime Information Center said the vessel initially reported two explosions off its port side and a third one later.
“The vessel was not hit and sustained no damage,” the center said. “The vessel and crew are reported to be safe and are proceeding to their next port of call.”
The Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014, claimed the attack Saturday night. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, identified the vessel targeted as the bulk carrier Transworld Navigator.
The U.S. military separately destroyed three drone boats in the Red Sea over the last day, Central Command said.
The Houthis have launched more than 60 attacks targeting specific vessels and fired off other missiles and drones in their campaign that has killed a total of four sailors. They have seized one vessel and sunk two since November. A U.S.-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January, with a series of strikes May 30 killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say.
The Houthis have maintained that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the Israel-Hamas war.
Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.
Military Times Night and Weekend Editor Beth Sullivan contributed to this story.
HMS Tamar berthed alongside the USS Emory S Land and the Australian survey ship HMAS Leeuwin (Picture: Royal Navy)
HMS Tamar has successfully berthed alongside a US Navy submarine support ship in an experimental link-up which could see the Royal Navy vessel extend her operations.
Tamar, an offshore patrol vessel, used the USS Emory S Land not just as a floating quayside or jetty, but also ‘plugged in’ to the vessel’s fuel, water and power supply.
The process known as rafting up also involved a third ship, the Australian survey vessel HMAS Leeuwin, as the trio of ships linked up in Cairns in Queensland.
The US Navy’s Emory S Land acts as a tender, normally providing forward support to US Navy hunter-killer nuclear submarines.
When no naval base is available, she sustains operations, providing electricity, water, consumables, spare parts, repairs and engineering assistance.
She also sustains their crews, offering medical and dental aid, mail, food and administration.
The UK does the same for the Royal Navy and US minehunters rather than submarines – operating in the Gulf, using RFA Cardigan Bay to provide similar facilities to mine warfare vessels, extending their operations.
The experimental link-up is known as rafting up (Picture: Royal Navy)
The Royal Navy said: “All three allied navies were keen to see whether the Emory S Land could do for larger surface vessels what it already does for the Silent Service.”
HMS Tamar is seven times smaller than the tender, and as both vessels were new to each other this was not simply a case of Tamar turning up and berthing alongside the US ship.
The three navies used scale drawings and extensive discussions to make sure the link-up of the three ships passed without incident.
Once Tamar was safely berthed, she was joined outboard by Australian survey ship HMAS Leeuwin.
Connections were subsequently made to prove that fuel, water and electricity could be provided to both ships from the US tender.
HMS Tamar can perform a variety of roles, from intercepting drug-traffickers and smugglers to protecting UK territorial waters (Picture: Royal Navy)
In April, HMS Tamar was in Fiji where she had been helping the local government curb illegal fishing and drug smuggling.
The River-class patrol vessel was working with the Fijian Ministry of Fisheries, the Republic of Fiji Navy Ship Riders and the Royal New Zealand Navy.
HMS Tamar can perform a variety of roles, from intercepting drug-traffickers and smugglers to protecting UK territorial waters and providing humanitarian assistance in the wake of a disaster.
HMS Tamar berthed alongside the USS Emory S Land and the Australian survey ship HMAS Leeuwin (Picture: Royal Navy)
HMS Tamar has successfully berthed alongside a US Navy submarine support ship in an experimental link-up which could see the Royal Navy vessel extend her operations.
Tamar, an offshore patrol vessel, used the USS Emory S Land not just as a floating quayside or jetty, but also ‘plugged in’ to the vessel’s fuel, water and power supply.
The process known as rafting up also involved a third ship, the Australian survey vessel HMAS Leeuwin, as the trio of ships linked up in Cairns in Queensland.
The US Navy’s Emory S Land acts as a tender, normally providing forward support to US Navy hunter-killer nuclear submarines.
When no naval base is available, she sustains operations, providing electricity, water, consumables, spare parts, repairs and engineering assistance.
She also sustains their crews, offering medical and dental aid, mail, food and administration.
The UK does the same for the Royal Navy and US minehunters rather than submarines – operating in the Gulf, using RFA Cardigan Bay to provide similar facilities to mine warfare vessels, extending their operations.
The experimental link-up is known as rafting up (Picture: Royal Navy)
The Royal Navy said: “All three allied navies were keen to see whether the Emory S Land could do for larger surface vessels what it already does for the Silent Service.”
HMS Tamar is seven times smaller than the tender, and as both vessels were new to each other this was not simply a case of Tamar turning up and berthing alongside the US ship.
The three navies used scale drawings and extensive discussions to make sure the link-up of the three ships passed without incident.
Once Tamar was safely berthed, she was joined outboard by Australian survey ship HMAS Leeuwin.
Connections were subsequently made to prove that fuel, water and electricity could be provided to both ships from the US tender.
HMS Tamar can perform a variety of roles, from intercepting drug-traffickers and smugglers to protecting UK territorial waters (Picture: Royal Navy)
In April, HMS Tamar was in Fiji where she had been helping the local government curb illegal fishing and drug smuggling.
The River-class patrol vessel was working with the Fijian Ministry of Fisheries, the Republic of Fiji Navy Ship Riders and the Royal New Zealand Navy.
HMS Tamar can perform a variety of roles, from intercepting drug-traffickers and smugglers to protecting UK territorial waters and providing humanitarian assistance in the wake of a disaster.
SAM LAGRONE JUNE 18, 2024 2:52 PM – UPDATED: JUNE 18, 2024 4:26 PM
USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) is moved to an outfitting berth at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, April 8, 2024. US Navy Photo
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The midlife overhaul and refueling for aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) will now take about five and a half years to complete – an extension of almost 14 months, according to Navy Fiscal Year 2025 budget documents. Stennis began the refueling and complex overhaul in 2021 and was due to finish the massive, multi-billion overhaul by August 2025. However, that date was pushed to the right by more than a year to October 2026, according to the Fiscal Year 2025 budget documents released earlier this year.
Speaking to USNI News on Monday, program executive officer carriers Rear. Adm. Casey Moten said the delays are due to the workforce and material shortfalls that stretched out the delivery of USS George Washington (CVN-73), which were made worse by the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
George Washington was at the Newport News yard for almost six years before completing the RCOH with the sailors working in the shipyard subject to some of the toughest conditions in the military, according to a 2023 Navy investigation following the deaths by suicide of several sailors assigned to the carrier.
Stennis will be in the yard less time and the service has taken steps to increase the quality of life for the sailors working on the carrier, Moten told USNI News.
That includes creating new habitability standards the carrier must meet before the Naval Sea Systems Command, the PEO and the ship’s leadership can make the decision to allow the sailors to move back aboard the carrier.
As part of the FY 2025 budget submission, the Navy requested additional funds for sailors to live off the ship during the work.
The cost increases, “include additional months of crew berthing and to provide more off-ship housing in apartments vice barracks for sailors. Beginning with [Stennis] RCOH, no on-board housing is used for crew berthing for sailors during the RCOH. In previous RCOH availabilities, crew move-aboard occurred nearly a year before the ship re-delivered,” reads the budget documents.
Lack of parking, adequate housing and other amenities, like reliable Wi-Fi and healthy food options, were highlights from an investigation that concluded sailors on Washington had the toughest living standards in the U.S. military.
Moten spoke at an announcement of a $120 million garage that would add 2,800 spots to allow sailors and shipyard workers parking nearby the shipyard with 2,000 spaces reserved for sailors working in the yard. According to the investigation, about 2,000 sailors parked in satellite lots, requiring travel of up to three hours to get to work.
Stennis left the dry dock of HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in April to start the second part of the carrier’s RCOH and is currently pier-side at the shipyard.
A Chinese amphibious warship is operating near a disputed South China Sea feature that has been the site of a standoff between Chinese and Philippine Coast Guards, USNI News has learned.
An unidentified People’s Liberation Army Navy Type 075-class landing helicopter dock was first seen by a ship spotter in satellite photos in the South China Sea on June 12. On Friday, the 36,000-ton warship stopped near Subi Reef, a reclaimed feature that now hosts a Chinese military base. By Sunday, the amphib was spotted near Sabina Shoal.
Located 72 nautical miles northwest of the Philippine island of Palawan, Sabina is claimed by Beijing under its expansive claims in the South China Sea as Chinese territorial waters. Manila considers the shoal to be within its exclusive economic zone.
The dispute at Sabina Shoal began in April when Philippine Coast Guard flagship BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) anchored at the shoal in what it claims was a move to prevent Chinese island reclamation operations. Beijing called Manila’s statement a “sheer rumor.”
In the ensuing two months since Teresa Magbanua arrival, Chinese naval forces have shadowed the cutter in growing numbers. On May 12, the Philippines identified 34 vessels around Sabina Shoal from the People’s Liberation Army Navy, China Coast Guard and Maritime Militia. The deployments resulted in the first-ever Chinese naval exercise to occur in the Philippine exclusive economic zone, according to the Philippine Navy
On June 4, Chinese naval helicopters and hovercraft were spotted by the Philippine Coast Guard during their escort mission of civilian researchers. The ship they were launched from was later identified as a Type 071 amphibious platform dock (LPD). Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, said in a tweet that “the objective of the PLA Navy’s deployment of its amphibious assault ship on June 4, 2024, was to disrupt the activities of civilian Filipino scientists who were conducting a scientific survey in Escoda Shoal.”
Both Philippine and Chinese media said the deployment of the Type 075 comes amid Beijing’s latest law that permits the China Coast Guard to detain those trespassing within Chinese waters for up to 60 days. Chinese state media also claimed that this was the first time a Type 075 had deployed to the disputed area.
According to a Naval War College report, the Type 075 can support between 900-1200 troops and their associated complement of amphibious assault vehicles, hovercraft and helicopters. Compared to its American counterpart, the U.S. Navy’s Wasp-class LHD, the Chinese flattop displaces slightly less at 36,000 tons and does not come with a complement of vertical and short take-off and landing fighter jets.
While a Congressional Research Service report on Chinese naval modernization noted that the Type 075 would be of great value for a Taiwan Invasion scenario, the report also noted that the vessels can be used in “operations for asserting and defending China’s claims in the South and East China Seas.”
Ben Lewis, a Defense Analyst focusing on PLA development and Taiwan security issues, told USNI News that the Type 075 brings a “significant capability” to Chinese forces attempting to uphold maritime claims and demonstrates “Beijing’s resolve to continue to assert its sweeping territorial claims.”
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