It seems obvious that there are two Type 071s in the dry dock.Cross-posted from the 09X SSN thread.
(Possibly at least) one 071 LPD is under construction inside the larger drydock at Hudong-Zhonghua's Changxin site, alongside the 3rd 054B FFG of the 2nd batch (after the 1st new batch 054B FFG was launched sometime earlier).
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How so?It seems obvious that there are two Type 071s in the dry dock.
It seems obvious that there are two Type 071s in the dry dock.
Let's see if Guangzhou Longxue has any news for us...
Apart from the ship under construction in the upper right corner, there is a bow module under the crane and two twin-axial stern modules on the far left inside the dock; these modules are likely for another new Type 071.How so?
I was being cautious, given that the ship on the top right hasn't been fully assembled at the waterline.
Still, given that the PLAN currently operates 4x 075 LHDs, with 1x 076 LHD soon to join the fleet and at least 1x new 075 LHD under construction right now - If the PLAN goes by the one-LHD-with-two-LPDs "convention", then this would mean at least 4x new 071 LPDs are needed.
Let's see if Guangzhou Longxue has any news for us...
The key question is the scale of production. There is some chatter suggesting that the PLAN may procure an additional 2–4 Type 075s; if so, we could anticipate a complementary run of roughly 4–8 Type 071 vessels.
Not necessarily a fixed 2:1 ratio. We all know the PLAN currently operates 8 Type 071s & 4 Type 075s—that’s just how it stands today, not necessarily by design. If more 075s come in, additional 071s alongside them wouldn’t be surprising, but it’s not a given.