Late last month, local news in China’s Anhui Province accidentally revealed its Provincial Department of Veterans Affairs would be going to Shanghai to assist in the naming ceremony for the new Type 075 warship, meaning it likely will be named after the eastern province.
The three Type 075 warships have been built at the Hudong Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, a major producer of warships for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The ship was spotted near the shipyard on Wednesday, hinting that a christening might be near.
The third and final Type 075, has been on sea trials since November 2021, having first hit the water the previous January. It was preceded by the Hainan, which was named and commissioned in April 2021, and the Guangxi in late December.
The massive warships are the size of World War II-era fleet aircraft carriers, but instead of fixed-wing aircraft, they carry helicopters and drones on their flight deck, as well as an amphibious assault force that can disembark from a dock well in the rear of the ship. The Pentagon has worried that the new warships could pose a threat to Taiwan, an autonomous island claimed by China but whose autonomy is maintained by US support.
The PLAN also has two aircraft carriers, the Dalian and Shandong, and a third, larger carrier under construction at the Jiangnan Shipyard, another Shanghai facility.
The launch of that ship, known presently as Type 003, is highly anticipated because it will be the third-largest carrier class afloat behind the US Navy’s Nimitz and Ford class carriers. Recent photos of the shipyard show it is nearing completion.
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