Breaking news
China's Fourth Type 071 LPD Amphibious Vessel Yimeng Shan to be Commissioned February 1st.
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Naval
Forces News - China |
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China's
Fourth Type 071 LPD Amphibious Vessel Yimeng Shan to be Commissioned
February 1st |
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An article published on the website
of the Chinese town of Linyi indicates that the fourth People's Liberation
Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) Type 071 amphibious transport dock
LPD Yimeng Shan (hull number 988) will be commissioned next
Monday, February 1st 2016. Yimeng Shan was built by Hudong-Zhonghua
Shipbuilding, a wholly owned subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding
Corporation (CSSC, the largest shipbuilding group in China) as was the
case for the first three Type 071 vessels. |
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 PLAN's Fourth Type 071 amphibious transport dock LPD Yimeng Shan (hull number 988) |
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Yimeng
Shan was launched in January
last year and started sea trials in September
2015. The vessel is set to join the PLAN's East Sea Fleet (it
will be the first vessel of the class for this fleet). Yimengshan joins three vessels of the class already in service: Head of class Kunlun Shan (998) commissioned in 11/2007, Jinggang Shan (999) commissioned in 10/2011, Changbai Shan (989) commissioned in 09/2012. Two more vessels of the class are reportedly under construction at Hudong shipyard. Type 071 landing platform dock Type 071 (Yuzhao-class) LPD are the main amphibious platforms of the PLAN. They displace approximatly 25,000 tons, measure 210 meters long and 28 meters wide. The ship complement is 156 sailors plus 23 officers. Each Type 071 has the capacity to accomodate one marine battalion, including 500 to 800 troops. During a visit in the UK, it was announced that the ship can carry up to 65 amphibious armored vehicles. The well deck was designed to hold four Yuyi-class LCAC. In addition, Type 071 LPDs can also supposedly carry 6 Z-8 medium (10 tons class) helicopters. The ship is armed with one 76 mm gun and four 30 mm close-in weapon systems. |