A flotilla of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy recently conducted live-fire drills on several subjects in the South China Sea to improve the participating troops' combat capabilities.
The flotilla consisted of three tank landing ships — the Luoxiaoshan, the Yunwushan, and the Xuefengshan.
Shortly after entering the drill zone, the commander ordered the ships to open fire when ready at their attack positions.
The ships then fired in sequence, delivering precise strikes that destroyed the targets. With the objective achieved, the formation proceeded to the next drill area to practice approach and disengagement maneuvers with a drift vessel.
As a core landing-ship exercise, approaching and docking alongside a drift vessel tests a commander's operational skills and capacity for rapid, on-the-spot decision-making. Because wind and currents caused both vessels to pitch and yaw as they got close, the commander must continuously assess the situation and issue precise orders to avoid possible collision.
During the six-day drill, the formation also conducted multiple subject exercises such as landing, swimming, and shooting with light weapons at sea to test the basic training level of the officers and soldiers.
"The current drill features exercises in actual use of weapons and actual beach landing, which are intended to keep strengthening coordination among the various combat positions, and mimic a real sea combat scenario, which will lay a solid foundation for subsequent training," said Gu Zhihua, a PLA Navy Second Lieutenant.
Chinese Navy conducts live-fire drills in South China Sea to boost combat capabilities
