China Is Buying Giant Attack Hovercraft From Russia

China has received its second Zubr ("Bison") class hovercraft from Russia. Fast, armed and capable of carrying an invasion force, thesed hovercraft give China the ability to land troops on nearby islands and islets, including those in the East China Sea, South China Sea, and even Taiwan.

The Soviet Union developed the Zubr class of hovercraft in the late 1970s as a way of quickly landing troops over relatively short distances. Zubrs have a range of 300 miles and top speeds of up to 55 knots. Each one can carry three tanks, 12 armored fighting vehicles, and up to 500 marine infantry. And they don't stop at the beach: As hovercraft, Zubrs can cross a beachhead and carry their cargo well inland. On land, a Zubr can cross a five-degree gradient and traverse up to a four-foot vertical wall.  

Here's a Russian Zubr involved in an amphibious exercise, disgorging Russian marines and BTR-82 infantry fighting vehicles on the beachhead.

Each of these vessels has two AK-630 30-millimeter gatling guns for self-defense against anti-ship missiles. Zubrs can also provide their own fire support in an invasion, as each one has two 140-millimeter Ogon multiple rocket launchers with 22 barrels. 

China originally signed a contract with Ukraine for four Zubrs—two to be built in Ukraine, and two in China at the Huangpu shipyards. The Ukrainian shipyard that built the Zubrs is now apparently in Russian territory but it seems they were still able to complete the order. In addition to the Russian/Ukrainian Zubrs, China also purchased Greece's entire fleet of four Zubr hovercraft. This will bring China's fleet to a total of eight hovercraft. 

Why such an interest in these watercraft? China has territorial disputes with several neighboring countries in the nearby seas, mostly over small, uninhabited islets and reefs. In the event of a crisis, Zubrs could quickly land a small ground force on these islets, either to claim them for China or take them from someone else. 

Zubrs would also be useful if China ever decided to invade Taiwan. Taiwan is only 120 miles from the Chinese mainland, well within the Zubr's 300-mile range. The trip would last less than two hours, meaning an efficient invasion force could make two round trips per day. 

Source: China Defense Blog