China’s newest and most ambitious amphibious assault ship, the Type 076 Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) Sichuan, has again drawn intense scrutiny after recent imagery appeared to show a fully shrouded unmanned aircraft positioned on its expansive flight deck. Defence analysts and open-source intelligence observers widely assess that the covered air vehicle is a mock-up representing the GJ-21 naval unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), a development that reinforces growing assessments that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is moving rapidly toward operationalising sea-based unmanned aviation.
The imagery surfaced alongside video footage showing the massive vessel being manoeuvred into open waters by tugboats at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai. The activity strongly suggests that Sichuan may be preparing for a second phase of sea trials following its earlier test programme. Several social media commentators noted that the ship appeared to be departing its dry dock, a key indicator that further trials or systems testing could be imminent.
The same visuals also confirmed the presence of a Type 075 landing helicopter dock berthed nearby, offering a rare side-by-side comparison between China’s current-generation amphibious assault ships and the far larger, more complex Type 076. The contrast underscores the scale of China’s rapid naval evolution and highlights how dramatically the PLAN’s amphibious and expeditionary capabilities have expanded within a single decade.
The Type 076 previously conducted a test of its electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) in late October 2025, before commencing its first sea trials in mid-November that year. At the time, the Chinese military announced that the ship had departed port “to carry out its first navigation test mission,” marking a critical milestone in the vessel’s progression toward operational service.
While it remains unclear whether the latest movement into open waters constitutes a formal continuation of its sea trial programme, available evidence suggests that Sichuan is advancing rapidly toward operational maturity. If confirmed, the ship is on track to become the world’s first amphibious assault platform equipped with EMALS specifically configured to support sustained drone flight operations.
This progress builds directly upon the ship’s launch on 27 December 2024 and its initial sea trials beginning on 14 November 2025. The compressed timeline reflects China’s highly industrialised naval construction ecosystem, which has enabled the PLAN to field increasingly complex capital ships at a pace unmatched by any Western navy. By comparison, similar vessels in the United States and Europe often require significantly longer development and testing cycles.
The strategic importance of Sichuan was underlined by PLA Navy spokesperson Colonel Jiang Bin, who stated that “as a new generation of amphibious assault ship of the navy, the Sichuan plays an important role in promoting the transformation and development of the navy and improving its far-sea combat capabilities.” His remarks align closely with Beijing’s broader objective of reshaping maritime power projection beyond the First Island Chain.
Embedded within the Type 076 programme is China’s deliberate pivot toward unmanned and intelligent warfare. PLA-affiliated commentators have argued that “when our air superiority drones are ready for deployment, then the Type 076 can do all the tasks an aircraft carrier can do, including gaining air superiority.” While such claims remain aspirational, they directly challenge long-held assumptions about the primacy of manned aviation and traditional carrier dominance.
From a geopolitical perspective, the emergence of Sichuan coincides with intensifying security competition across the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. In these theatres, the ability to launch sustained drone sorties from a mobile sea base could provide Beijing with a decisive asymmetric advantage in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), electronic warfare, and precision strike operations against adversaries equipped with advanced anti-access and area-denial systems.
With an estimated displacement of between 40,000 and 50,000 tonnes, the Type 076 sits in the same weight class as the US Navy’s America-class amphibious assault ships. Each America-class vessel costs approximately USD 3.4 billion (around RM 16.0 billion), suggesting that China may have achieved comparable capability density at potentially lower unit costs through domestic industrial scale and tightly integrated systems development.
Viewed holistically, the Type 076 Sichuan is not simply a new hull entering service, but a doctrinal statement. It signals China’s intent to collapse the traditional distinctions between amphibious assault ships, light aircraft carriers, and unmanned strike platforms into a single, modular instrument of expeditionary warfare tailored for high-intensity conflict in the Western Pacific.
The Type 076 programme emerged as a direct response to the operational limitations inherent in China’s earlier Type 075 landing helicopter docks. While the Type 075 proved valuable for vertical assault and troop lift operations, it lacked the ability to generate fixed-wing airpower or sustain long-range precision strikes independently in contested maritime environments.
Construction of Sichuan at Hudong-Zhonghua began in the early 2020s amid an accelerated naval expansion cycle that has seen the PLAN commission more major surface combatants over the past decade than any other navy globally. This expansion reflects Beijing’s prioritisation of maritime dominance as a central pillar of national power.
The vessel’s launch in December 2024, less than two years after construction reportedly began, demonstrated the maturity of China’s modular shipbuilding practices. Parallel fabrication of hull sections, propulsion systems, and combat modules has dramatically compressed build timelines compared to Western shipyards still constrained by legacy processes.
Initial sea trials in mid-November 2025 focused on propulsion reliability, navigation systems, and basic platform stability. State media reported that the ship departed Shanghai at around 9 a.m. local time for a three-day evaluation before returning to port. The relatively short trial period suggested a high degree of confidence in baseline systems performance.
A second round of sea trials in early December 2025 further indicated that the PLAN was expediting testing cycles, possibly in response to rising regional security pressures, including increased military activity around Taiwan and the growing frequency of multinational naval operations in contested waters.
Unlike the Type 075, which prioritises rotary-wing aviation, the Type 076 integrates a CATOBAR-style architecture featuring electromagnetic catapults, arresting gear, and a reinforced flight deck. This effectively transforms the platform into a hybrid amphibious assault ship and light carrier optimised for unmanned aviation.
This design reflects a broader doctrinal evolution within the PLA, which increasingly emphasises control of the electromagnetic spectrum, persistent ISR, and standoff precision strike as prerequisites for successful amphibious operations against technologically advanced adversaries.
By embedding these capabilities into an amphibious hull rather than relying exclusively on traditional aircraft carriers, China gains operational flexibility. Such platforms are arguably less escalatory politically, yet remain tactically potent in grey-zone or pre-conflict scenarios.
With a length estimated between 252 and 260 metres and a beam of around 40 metres, Sichuan provides substantial deck space and internal volume. Its twin-island superstructure enhances airflow over the flight deck, separates navigation and aviation command functions, and introduces redundancy that could prove critical under combat conditions.
Central to the ship’s aviation capability is its EMALS technology, previously deployed only on the US Navy’s Ford-class carriers and China’s own Type 003 Fujian. EMALS enables the launch of heavier aircraft with greater payloads and fuel loads than ski-jump systems, while arresting gear allows sustained launch-and-recovery cycles essential for continuous operations.
Beneath the flight deck, Sichuan retains a well dock capable of deploying landing craft air cushion vehicles and amphibious assault vehicles, ensuring that its enhanced aviation focus does not come at the expense of traditional marine landing capabilities.
At the heart of the Type 076 concept is its integration with advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles, particularly the GJ-21. Widely assessed as a navalised derivative of the GJ-11 “Sharp Sword” UCAV, the GJ-21 has reportedly been adapted for catapult launch and arrested recovery at sea.
Imagery showing a GJ-21-like platform on Sichuan’s deck, complete with what appears to be an arresting hook, provides compelling evidence that China is nearing the operationalisation of carrier-capable stealth drones. If confirmed, this would mark a significant milestone in naval aviation by decoupling airpower projection from human pilots.
The GJ-21’s flying-wing configuration and low-observable design reduce radar cross-section, enhancing survivability in contested airspace. Internal weapon bays are believed to accommodate precision-guided munitions and missiles, optimising the platform for strike, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare missions.
Defence analysts have suggested that a squadron of such UCAVs operating from Sichuan could deliver “immense fire delivery capabilities,” providing persistent air cover and strike capacity without exposing pilots to high attrition risks.
In addition to stealth UCAVs, the Type 076 is expected to operate medium-altitude long-endurance drones, potentially including navalised variants of the Wing Loong series, extending ISR coverage across vast maritime areas.
Despite its aviation focus, Sichuan remains fundamentally an amphibious assault ship. It is designed to deploy roughly 1,000 marines along with armoured vehicles, artillery, and logistical support for sustained littoral operations.
The well dock enables rapid deployment of landing craft air cushion vehicles, while helicopters such as the Z-20 and Z-8 support vertical envelopment, troop insertion, and casualty evacuation. Drones provide continuous overwatch and targeting support, integrating air and ground operations more closely than ever before.
In a Taiwan Strait contingency, the ship’s electromagnetic catapults would allow uninterrupted drone launches, ensuring persistent ISR and precision fires as amphibious forces advance inland. This reduces reliance on vulnerable forward air bases and complicates adversary targeting strategies.
The operational maturation of the Type 076 Sichuan carries far-reaching implications for the Indo-Pacific security environment. In the South China Sea, the ship could support rapid island seizure or reinforcement operations, providing air cover and strike capabilities that complicate regional responses.
Across the Taiwan Strait, Sichuan functions as a mobile, survivable base capable of sustaining air and amphibious operations under missile and air attack, directly challenging existing defensive assumptions.
Comparisons with US Navy platforms have led some commentators to argue that the Type 076 “should worry the US Navy,” not because it replaces supercarriers, but because it introduces a new category of platform that exploits asymmetries in cost, risk, and operational flexibility.
As sea trials continue and aviation systems are activated, Sichuan will serve as a real-world testbed for China’s unmanned naval aviation ambitions—potentially reshaping the future balance between manned and unmanned airpower at sea.
