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Home» News»Royal Thai Navy Procures Type 071E LPD from China’s CSSC
IMDEX Asia 2023

Royal Thai Navy Procures Type 071E LPD from China’s CSSC

Thailand signed a contract with China for the procurement of a Type 071E landing platform dock (LPD) on September 9, 2019. China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) will build the amphibious vessel for the Royal Thai Navy.

Xavier Vavasseur 16 Sep 2019

CSSC’s general manager, Yang Jincheng, and the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy, Admiral Luechai Ruddit, signed the contract.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) currently has five vessels of the Type 071 class commissioned in its fleet, with three more on the way. Thailand becomes the first export customer of the class.

PLAN Type 071 LPD during a Sino-Russian amphibious exercise

Originally designed after the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, the Type 071 is 210 meters long and 28 meters wide. It is capable of carrying an 800 marines (1 battalion) and some 20 amphibious vehicles.

For amphibious warfare, the Type 071’s well deck may deploy at least two Type 726 / Type 726A, a Chinese LCAC of approximately 150 tonnes. Each LCAC is designed to deploy a battle tank (ZTZ-96A for example). The ship is also fitted with two large hangars and a flight deck, where two Z-8J helicopters can be operated simultaneously. The ship is fitted with one 76 mm gun and four 30 mm close-in weapon systems.

Three ships of this class were put in service between 2007 and 2012, all assigned to the PLAN South Sea Fleet. A second batch of five more Type 071 LPDs were added to the order book during the 12th five-year plan (2011-2015).

Things have been moving fast since, with the commissioning of the 4th vessel in the class, Yimeng Shan (pennant number 988) in February 2016, Longhu Shan (980) in September 2018 and Wuzhi Shan (987) in January this year.

The 7th Type 071, Wudang Shan, as well as the 8th one (name yet to be revealed), are currently undergoing fitting out in Shanghai. The latter, launched at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard on June 6, 2019, is expected to be the last, at least for the second batch of orders.

The 8th and likely final Type 071 LPD for the PLAN

The deal was reported to cost only Bt6.1 billion (200 million USD). Further details such as the location of the construction and delivery date have not been disclosed. The Royal Thai Navy’s Chief, Commander Admiral Luechai Ruddit told local media The Nation Thailand that the deal was transparent, and the large ship could be used for civilian purposes when needed.

China is also pursuing export of its Type 071E LPD to Malaysia, as part of the future MRSS requirement:

Our interview with CSSC about Type 071E for Malaysia’s MRSS during LIMA 2019

Thailand previously ordered a single S26T diesel electric submarine (SSK) from China’s shipbuilding industry as part of a government-to-government contract signed in 2017. The first steel cut for the first submarine took place on September 5, 2019.

China CSSC LPD Thailand Type 071 2019-09-16
Tags China CSSC LPD Thailand Type 071
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SAS 2023

Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

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