China conducts full-scale island assault exercise with massive amphibious vessels

For the first time, all of the PLA Navy’s three gigantic Type 071 Amphibious Transport Dock vessels were deployed last week in a large naval exercise in the tense South China Sea, simulating in full an island-taking assault.


Also participating in the drill were PLAN’s destroyers, frigates, military helicopters and possibly submarines.

The Yuzhao-class Type 071 amphibious transport dock ships are the PLAN’s largest vessels, except for its lone aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.

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