China commissioned three new naval war vessels into service that include a new guided-missile cruiser, an amphibious helicopter carrier, and a new nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine as President Xi Jinping marked an anniversary of the People's Republic of China sea forces.
The commissioning of the war vessels was done during a ceremony to mark the founding in 1949 of the People's Liberation Army Navy, held at the Yulin naval complex near the city of Sanya on the Chinese island of Hainan. Sources said the vessels are meant to bolster the navy's capabilities to patrol the waters of the nearby South China Sea.
Yulin is the base of operations for the South Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army Navy, which is tasked with securing the South China Sea.
Sources said Xi attended the ceremony and personally took part in the commissioning of the Type 075 Yushen-class amphibious helicopter carrier called the Hainan, the Type 055 Renhai-class guided-missile cruiser called the Dalian and the Type 094 Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine called the Changzheng-18.
The Hainan will reportedly be the lead ship of the new type of amphibious assault ships for the Chinese Navy. The helicopter carrier is meant to bolster the Navy's personnel deployment with its seven uninterrupted flight decks for large transport helicopters.
Sources said the Chinese Navy is currently constructing two more Type 075 helicopter carriers at a shipyard in Shanghai. China is reportedly aiming to boost its ability to conduct large amphibious operations - a capability gap in its military.
The Dalian is similar to the U.S. Navy's Ticonderoga-class cruisers in terms of its capabilities and features. The 10,000-ton cruiser is equipped with China's version of the Aegis combat system and a total of 112 vertical launching missile cells for different types of cruise missiles against land, sea and air targets.
China is reportedly constructing at least eight more Type 055s in two separate shipyards in Dalian and Shanghai. China is also building smaller destroyers called the Type 052D.
The Changzheng-18 is one of two nuclear submarines China is planning to build. Defense News previously reported that China plans to have a total of six nuclear-powered submarines in its fleet. The Type 094 submarines are capable of launching up to 12 nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles with a range of up to 4,500 miles.
