Type 076 LHD/LHA discussion

00CuriousObserver said:

Rewatched their 076 stream, basically: it’s important that the Type 076 can operate fixed-wing manned aircraft, but not important that it does.

There is a decent number of compromises involved in operating manned aircraft, and it's a slippery slope, because where do you draw the line before it becomes a full aircraft carrier

So we should expect that the Type 076 may eventually be able to accommodate fixed wing manned aircraft, but not as part of its routine operations. That’s where the line is seemingly drawn

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Have to agree even though the fanboy in me "wishes" otherwise.....


Regarding the thinking that 076 may eventually be able to accommodate manned fighters, I would assume that an OLS would be necessary.

So far, no evidence of an OLS on 076; not even evidence that a sponsor or carve-out has been reserved for where such a system might be located.

076 EMAL should be seen as a "why not put it too" option rather than its main defining feature. The ship has 90% of what it takes to carry fixed wings, may as well put the last 10% in. Sometimes you just want a few fixed wing aircraft for specialized missions, but no need for dozens of them. 076 gets the job done. Let fleet carrier worry about stuff like sortie rate, quantity.

PLAN manned stovl is still at least 15 yrs away if any so there's really no point to discuss such a distant event.
Based on what I see and know, I'm almost positive that there will be no J35s or J15Ts operating off of her either.

kwaigonegin said:

PLAN manned stovl is still at least 15 yrs away if any so there's really no point to discuss such a distant event.

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not true. it really depends on PLAN.

if you actually visit V/STOL thread then you can find many evidence. like the Lift fan, clutch, swivel nozzle and engine all tested and build. but most likely for research purpose and technology demonstrator.

I honestly don't see point about manned STOVL aircraft when they are able to put EMAL catapult on 40k ton ships.

If GJ-21 is not enough by itself (and I don't see why it would be), you can just develop other largish carrier drones that can handle other tasks.

Since Type 076 is likely to operate within area that carrier fleet can easily cover (and likely land based air wing can even cover), you can have manned assets from other places directing GJ-21s on Type 076 to launch ground attacks.

sunnymaxi said:

not true. it really depends on PLAN.

if you actually visit V/STOL thread then you can find many evidence. like the Lift fan, clutch, swivel nozzle and engine all tested and build. but most likely for research purpose and technology demonstrator.

China's V/STOL studies, concepts & considerations

A patent on an inlet design for a contra-rotating lift fan filed by the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center.

www.sinodefenceforum.com

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Having a demonstrator for a STOVL aircraft is very different to actually developing a STOVL aircraft for intent to produce and procure at scale.

Until we have indicators of PLA intent to actually procure such an aircraft type, I think we can dispense with notions of such an aircraft being part of the PLAN in the foreseeable future.

tphuang said:

I honestly don't see point about manned STOVL aircraft when they are able to put EMAL catapult on 40k ton ships.

If GJ-21 is not enough by itself (and I don't see why it would be), you can just develop other largish carrier drones that can handle other tasks.

Since Type 076 is likely to operate within area that carrier fleet can easily cover (and likely land based air wing can even cover), you can have manned assets from other places directing GJ-21s on Type 076 to launch ground attacks.

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I see utility in China developing VTOL drone or Tilt Rotor drone. A STOVL CCA or UADF could be quite useful for quick air cover defense in critical areas in the mainland. They can deploy from hidden places and quickly act against ambushes.

It could also be useful in a future hypthetical large 20K ton cruiser where it can act as the eye in the sky sensor node. It can mitigate the limited line of sight problem that Ship based radar faces due to curvature of the earth. With a large enough Flat Helipad, VTOL drones could be deployed from cruisers.

TK3600 said:

076 EMAL should be seen as a "why not put it too" option rather than its main defining feature. The ship has 90% of what it takes to carry fixed wings, may as well put the last 10% in. Sometimes you just want a few fixed wing aircraft for specialized missions, but no need for dozens of them. 076 gets the job done. Let fleet carrier worry about stuff like sortie rate, quantity.

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076, when compared to 075 is:
-longer and much wider deck;
-much more power generation and (probably) wind over deck(gas turbine v pure diesel)
-emals.
This is not an accident, this was very much the entire design goal. Especially since 075s continue to be built.

Hypothetical 076 layouts

Notably, it appears the ship may be able to launch aircraft while simultaneously moving airframes from the forward deck to the rear. This is substantial for deck ops

While I don't think it'll be that hard to transform Sichuan into a light carrier, the operative questions are whether such a platform will be particularly good and whether it's something China needs to begin with. We can start by looking at the reason for having a light carrier to begin with. Generally speaking they exist for countries which can't afford to build and operate proper carriers and they exist to perform carrier operations in places far away from where your carrier battlegroups are.

Only the second of these would apply to China, and I just don't see it. It's a mission that's really for countries which run a lot of expeditionary wars, and China doesn't do this and isn't interested in doing this. Besides, a light carrier that's out on its own will still need escorts like larger carriers do, but they can't maintain the same kind of fighter protection. Overall, I think the concept is a bit of a failure and I'm not sure even the America class LHAs have been able to perform this role as envisioned.