Zubr-class LCAC gives China PLA amphibious capabilities

Zubr-class LCAC gives PLA quick access to disputed islands

Zubr delivered

Marines: Zubr Goes Live In China

After the Zubr-class air-cushioned landing craft was commissioned by the People's Liberation Army Navy, Shenzhen Television reports that China will be able to deploy its troops to the disputed Diaoyutai or Diaoyu Islands (administered by Japan as the Senkaku but also claimed by China and Taiwan) in the East China Sea and the Spratly islands in the South China Sea in a shorter period of time. 

The Zubr-class (Project 1232.2 class, NATO reporting name Pomornik) is a class of air-cushioned landing craft of Soviet design. This class of military hovercraft is, as of 2012, the world’s largest hovercraft.^[4] It is designed to sealift landing assault units (such as marines or tanks) from equipped/non-equipped vessels to non-equipped shore, as well as transport and plant mines.
There are currently nine ships in active service in the world. The Zubr is used by the Russian, Ukrainian, and Greek navies.^[3]

Landed Zubr LCAC

The Zubr landing craft has a cargo area of 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft), and a fuel capacity of 56 tons.^[2] It can carry three main battle tanks (up to 150 tonnes), or ten armoured vehicles with 140 troops (up to 131 tonnes), or 8 armoured personnel carriers of total mass up to 115 tonnes, or 8 amphibious tanks or up to 500 troops (with 360 troops in the cargo compartment).

At full displacement the ship is capable of negotiating up to 5-degree gradients on non-equipped shores and 1.6m-high vertical walls. The Zubr remains seaworthy in conditions up to Sea State 4. The vessel has a cruising speed of 30-40 knots. Russian Video "amphibious hovercraft Zubr" below shows Zubr in action.



The report said China had already placed an order for four Zubr-class landing craft under a contract worth US$315 million. While two were constructed by the Ukraine-based Feodosiya Shipbuilding Company, the remaining two were licensed to be built in China.

Project Zubr* hovercraft are costly toys only superpowers can afford « Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm
Ukraine Shipyard reports the Zubr they are building for China is a significant upgrade from the Soviet Zubr design baseline. They are going to foreign sales to survive.

What we are building under a foreign contract is not a Zubr. Indeed, this is a genuinely Ukrainian project, codename 958. Although the project has a lot in common with the old Soviet Zubr, it is a brand new thing, completely rethought and improved. Design documentation is the property of the Ukrainian side. Soviet legacy in this case has served as a launching pad for Ukrainian know-how.

The enterprises of Ukrainian military industrial complex are facing hard times. The government is unable to provide proper financing to keep them running. Russia which has been a strategic partner for many years, is increasingly taking a hostile competitor position. European Union appreciates the quality of Ukrainian military produce but prefers to develop its counterpart projects. In a situation like this, each seeks its own ways to survive: one resort to maximum layoffs, other shifts to more in-demand products, and some are selling their intellectual property in order to stay afloat. To find out how the land lies with the industry in general and with More** Shipyard in Feodosiya, we contacted Roman Marchenko, Senior Partner at Ilyashev & Partners and the trustee in bankruptcy for More Shipyard.

Ukraine hands over first Zubr-class LCAC to China - IHS Jane's 360
The landing craft air cushion (LCAC) is the largest of its type in the world and was constructed at JSC Feodosia, according to a statement by Ukroboronprom. A second LCAC is under construction, the statement added, with a further two to be licence-built in China. The Zubr-class displaces 559 tonnes, has a length of 57.6 m and a beam of 25.6 m. It has a top speed of 63 kt and a range of 300 n miles at 55 kt.