Re: 중국이 민간 카페리에서 상륙장갑차를 운용하는 모습이 위성에 포착됨

[위종민]

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/28/chinese-launch-assault-craft-from-civilian-car-ferries-in-mass-amphibious-invasion-drill-satellite-photos-show

중국군이 대만 상륙 훈련을 실시중인 장면이 포착된 8월 31일 위성사진에서 민간 카페리가 상륙장갑차를 운용하는 장면이 찍혔네요. 해변에서 직접 램프가 개조된 카페리로 이동한 뒤, 다시 카페리에서 해변으로 기동했다고 합니다. 

훈련기간 중 민군양용 페리 7척을 추적했으며, 이 배 중 15,000톤급 RORO선인 Bo Hai Heng Tong호의 주차구역은 3층에 걸쳐 폭 3m, 길이 1마일로 차량운반능력이 샌안토니오급 상륙함의 3배에 달한다고 합니다. 장시간 작전능력은 갖추고 있지 않지만 대만해협을 건너는 데에는 필요없는 능력이죠. 

그동안 중국 해군은 민간 여객선이나 화물선을 화물수송이나 화포를 탑재해 화력지원하는 용도로 동원했지만, 2021년부터 카페리에 상륙장갑차를 운용하는 모습이 목격됐고 이에 따라 카페리들이 상륙 제1파로 동원될 수도 있다고 추정되고 있습니다. 

Chinese Launch Assault Craft from Civilian Car Ferries in Mass Amphibious Invasion Drill, Satellite Photos Show - USNI News

View all posts by H I Sutton and Sam LaGrone →

5-6 minutes

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H I Sutton Illustration for USNI News Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies Used with Permission

The Chinese military held a major exercise to prove how the People’s Liberation Army Navy could use large civilian ferries to launch a massive amphibious invasion of Taiwan.

The PLAN brought amphibious landing craft to a Chinese beach near the Taiwan Strait, according to Aug. 31 satellite imagery reviewed by USNI News. Offshore, the PLAN arrayed several large civilian ferries and warships. The PLA landing craft left the beach, swam to the car ferries and loaded amphibious assault craft aboard at sea via a specially-constructed ramp. The landing craft then left the ferries and returned to their starting point.

Defense analyst Tom Shugart, who monitors Chinese military exercises, followed the drills and tracked seven of the civilian dual-use amphibious ferries during the exercise. Additionally, satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies has provided USNI News with high-resolution images of the August drills, revealing key details.

Chinese Type 05 amphibious fighting vehicle in 2021. CGTN Image

“They ended up parked off the coast in areas that were near other areas where we’ve seen them do amphibious assault training before with commercial ferries,” Shugart told USNI News.
“The numbers were bigger than we’ve seen before.”

The roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ferry has been identified as Bo Hai Heng Tong, a 15,000-ton multipurpose cargo ship. The ferry’s internal parking ‘lane’ is 1.6 miles long and three meters wide, spread across three decks. This translates into a vehicle cargo capacity that’s almost three times that of a San Antonio-class amphibious warship (LPD-17), Shugart said.

“AN LHA or LPD spends a lot of cubic feet [on] Marines able to operate for weeks or months at sea. That’s a lot of wasted space if all you’re doing is making a quick trip across the strait,” he said.

Bo Hai Heng Tong launched in 2020.

This ship is not unique. Her sister ship, Bo Hai Heng Da, was built at the same time with the same specifications. As the name implies, they normally operate in the Bohai Sea. But for the exercise Bo Hai Heng Tong sailed over 1,000 miles south to be opposite Taiwan.

The concept of augmenting amphibious warfare ships with civilian vessels, and ships taken up from trade (STUFT), are not new to the PLAN. The Chinese Navy has been practicing it for years. Many are used for transport, while some carry artillery pieces on their decks for shore bombardment.

However, launching craft – like the 26-ton ZTD-05, an amphibious armored vehicle used by the PLA – at sea is a new development, Shugart said.

“Everybody assumed that you had to seize a port first. That those [ferries] were second echelon forces… Somebody else has got to seize the port,” he said.
“2021 was the first time we saw them dump amphibious assault vehicles right into the water, which means now those ferries can be the first echelon sending assault units straight to the beach.“

Bo Hai Heng Tong

The new RoRo ships – launched in 2020 – are significant in a few ways. They are larger than most other ships in their class. When launched at the CIMC Raffles shipyard in Yantai, the yard described the ships as the largest multi-purpose RoRos Asia. They are multipurpose ships designed from the outset to carry a range of vehicle types and containers and are built with a large helicopter landing deck.

The amphibious exercise came less than a month after U.S. House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited Taiwan. The visit drew a massive show of force from China as Beijing ramped up military sea and air activity around the island.

Previous norms, such as not sailing warships beyond the median line in the Taiwan Strait, were ignored during the exercise. The new normal sees increased activity, including flying drones over Taiwanese islands. One notable drone incident occurred the same day as the amphibious exercise.

Several Chinese Navy ships were also involved in the exercise. The Type 071 class landing platform dock (LPD), Wuzhishan (987), was present with an older landing ship tank (LST). These also practiced swimming with armored vehicles.

A Chinese amphibious armored vehicle leaving the car ferry Bang Chui Dao in 2020. CCTV image

Shugart said, “China’s roll-on/roll-off ferries are very well-suited to support” any invasion of Taiwan. “Civilian augmentation will be essential, if not providing the majority of the required sealift capacity.”

Since the exercise, RoRo ships have returned to their normal routes, ferrying civilian vehicles across the entrance to the Bohai Sea. But their capability would allow China to switch to invasion mode at short notice.

“What can you come up with that’s better than a ferry? That’s what they do. That’s what they’re designed for, is to quickly move vehicles and people, drop them off and go back and work as efficiently as humanly possible,” Shugart told USNI News.

[백선호]

카페리는 일단 해안이 확보된 다음에 보급품 보내는데 쓸 것 같았는데 처음부터 보낸다면 의외네요.

[위종민]

상륙 1파에 동원할 LPD나 강습상륙함들이 모자라서 저런 건지, 아니면 1파 물량을 늘리는 데 집중하는건지.. RORO선이면 대함미사일 맞으면 훅 가는 건 둘째치고 악기상에도 취약할 것 같은데요.