Some incredible #OSINT from CMSI's @KennedyMaritime.
It appears the PLA has been testing modified ramps that could allow its large fleet of "civilian" car ferries to launch amphibious assault craft from offshore, reducing the need for captured ports.
jamestown.org/program/rampin…
It appears the PLA has been testing modified ramps that could allow its large fleet of "civilian" car ferries to launch amphibious assault craft from offshore, reducing the need for captured ports.
jamestown.org/program/rampin…
This matters at a strategic level, as many have taken comfort that the PLA lacks sufficient amphibious assault shipping to invade Taiwan, & doesn't appear to be building at the scale necessary to do so soon.
See for example this passage from the 2020 DoD China Military Report:
See for example this passage from the 2020 DoD China Military Report:
China does, however, have the world's largest merchant marine, including dozens of modern Ro-Ro vessels, many of which have been built to military specification since a 2015 law required doing so. maritime-executive.com/editorials/chi…
But again, observers have taken comfort that this merchant shipping would be useless in a Taiwan invasion unless China managed to capture an intact port.
China's response, apparently:
China's response, apparently:
From the report: "In 2019, authors from the PLA Military Transportation University stated that there were 63 RO-RO ships suitable for use in transporting military units, totaling 140,000 deadweight tons."
In case you're wondering, 140K DWT is a LOT of cargo/vehicle/personnel shipping; DWT is a measure of the amount of cargo/fuel that ships can carry, not the ships' displacement (i.e., weight) as warship tonnage is normally measured.
In summary:
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