Type 724 Air Cushion Landing Craft

The Type 724 designed by Shanghai-based 708 Institute is the first Chinese indigenous air cushion landing craft in the operational use, with 20~30 examples deployed by the PLA Navy. The craft serves as a small, highly mobile transportation tool for ferrying marine troops from the amphibious warfare ships to shore. Carried inside the landing ship’s docking bay, the landing craft can drive directly through the ship’s stern door and send up to 10 soldiers to the beach. The air cushion landing craft allows the troops and material to access soft sandy beaches, swampland, and loose surfaces where conventional landing craft has difficulty to reach. The air cushion landing craft also provides greater speed and flexibility over traditional landing craft.

The craft has a square-shaped pontoon structure of the hull with three compartments: the soldier compartment in the front, the driving compartment in the middle, and the power compartment in the rear. Ten soldiers are carried in an unprotected, open-top compartment, exposed to enemy fire. The craft is unarmed.

The craft is powered by two BF12L913C diesels rated at 380hp, providing power to drive the air-cushion blowers and the air propellers. Two upright ring shrouds, housing the air propellers and standing upright at the back of the ship. The four bladed propellers which are provide the ship with a top speed of 40 knots.

Last update: 22 March 2008