The PLAN’s new Type 076 drone carrier/amphibious assault ship was launched in December 2024. Credit: Xinhua/Li Yun via China MND

The launch of China’s new Type 076 amphibious assault ship shows what might have been for UK Royal Navy, with the platform, which bears a distinct resemblance to the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, destined to usher in a new uncrewed era of naval aviation.

In late-December, China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) published a series of images on the launch of the Sichuan, the first-in-class of the Type 076 vessels, a hybrid between aircraft carrier and amphibious assault ship intended to operate a future generation of uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAVs) from its flight deck.

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The Sichuan features a dual island superstructure similar to that of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, which sees the separation of ship management to the foremost island, with flight operations controlled via the rear structure.

Advantages of this layout include improved airflow over the flight deck, a key enabler of carrier aviation, increased flight deck space, and reduced radar cross section.

Having two islands also provides a degree of combat redundancy should either become incapacitated, with its operations able to be shifted to the second structure. Credit: Xinhua/Li Yun via China MND

The MND stated that the Type 076 Sichuan had a full-load displacement of “over 40,000 tonnes”, and incorporated an “electromagnetic catapult”, likely intended for UCAV operations. The vessel is also able to embark traditional rotary wing aircraft and has a floodable well deck at its stern to enable amphibious operations with capacity for up to 1,000 marines and associated equipment.

Following its launch, the Sichuan will undergo a series of tests, including equipment commissioning, mooring tests, and sea trials, the MND stated.

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China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) unveiled the predecessor Type 075 amphibious assault ship Hainan in 2019, which entered service in April 2021. Since then, two additional Type 075 vessels (the Guangxi and the Anhui) have been commissioned into PLAN service.

Sichuan vs Queen Elizabeth: comparisons and differences

While the official displacement of the PLAN’s Sichuan is “over 40,000 tonnes”, it is possible the full load figure could be closer to 50,000 tonnes. At around 250m in length, it is only 34m shorter than the UK’s Queen Elizabeth-class supercarriers, which can displace up to 80,000 tonnes at full load.

China’s PLAN already operates crewed fixed-wing aircraft carriers such as the new generation Type 003 Fujian, a vessel of comparable size to the UK carriers but using the more traditional CATOBAR launch-capable J-15 fighters and KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft, instead of the Royal Navy’s STOVL F-35Bs.

The UK’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier are larger than China’s Type 076, but do not have a stern welldeck for amphibious assault. Credit: Kevin Shipp via Shutterstock

The integration of an electromagnetic catapult launch system onto Sichuan will enable it to launch heavyweight UCAVs currently under development, with a series of new designs unveiled at the recent Zhuhai airshow.

Coupled with its stern well deck and amphibious assault mission, a capability that the UK Royal Navy recently gapped for at least a decade, the concept of China’s Type 076 platform offers a multi-mission utility for the PLAN perhaps better suited to the diminished Royal Navy than its Queen Elizabeth-class fleet carriers.

How does GlobalData assess China’s PLAN capability?

GlobalData’s intelligence centre contains a comprehensive series of reports looking at China’s defence capabilities, complete with historic assessments of budget and future forecasts.

According to GlobalData analysis into the Chinese fleet in its Global Naval Vessels and Surface Combatants Market Forecast 2023-33, the PLAN has the largest navy in the Asia-Pacific region, with over 300 surface combatants in total.

The US Office for Naval Intelligence (ONI), an official department of the US Government, released an updated publication in 2024 on the development of China’s PLAN, revealing a fleet of at least 153 major naval surface combatants, which includes aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and corvettes.

Chinese defence expenditure recorded a CAGR of 7.5% during 2019–23 and was forecast to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6% to value $323.7bn in 2028. China’s MND is also expected to spend $1.4 trillion over 2024–28 on the procurement of military hardware and the modernisation of its armed forces.

In one example of China’s spending compared to the US, its only superpower rival, GlobalData forecasted that PLAN investment in the Type 052D guided missile destroyer (DDG) will register a CAGR of 17.09% between 2023-28, growing from $765m to over $1.6bn between 2023-28.

This exceeds US spending on its Arleigh Burke-class DDGs, which is expected to register -37.76% CAGR in the same period.