Western combat helicopters for China
As in the case of the fighter aviation by the beginning of the 1980s, China was very far behind the USSR and the industrialized countries of the West in the field of helicopter construction. After rapprochement with the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, the Chinese leadership took steps to purchase helicopter equipment and engines from the West. In addition to licensed copying, in a number of cases, Chinese designers illegally borrowed technical components, assemblies and on-board systems of foreign helicopters.
Chinese helicopter industry before the start of military-technical cooperation with Western countries
From 1964 to 1980, the aircraft factory in Harbin produced a Chinese copy of the Mi-4 piston helicopter, which in China had the designation Z-5 (Zhishengji-5). The operation of this machine in China ended in the 1970st century. Already by the beginning of the 5s, the Z-XNUMX helicopter lagged behind the advanced world level of helicopter engineering and could not fully meet the needs of the armed forces.
Z-5 helicopter armed with a 12,7 mm machine gun
In 1982, the Z-5 helicopter was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 T-6 Twin Pac turboshaft engine with an HP 1 power. With. However, due to the general obsolescence of the helicopter design, the matter was limited to one converted copy.
In the early 1970s, testing of the Z-6 helicopter began, in which Z-5 units were partially used. This helicopter, conceived as a functional analogue of the Soviet Mi-8, was equipped with a Chinese WZ-5 gas turbine engine with an HP 2 power. With. The maximum takeoff weight of the rotorcraft was 200 kg, speed - up to 7 km / h, range - up to 600 km. Crew - 192 people. Capacity - 650 passengers or 2 kg of cargo.
Helicopter Z-6
During the trial operation of the Z-6, several flight accidents occurred, and at least one machine burned down after a fall. Pilot operation of the Z-6 showed that although the helicopter's engine power was greater than that of the Z-5, it was still insufficient, and the single-engine layout greatly reduced flight safety.
As a result, the customer, represented by the PLA, refused to replace the Z-5 with the Z-6. From 1970 to 1977, 11 Z-6 helicopters were manufactured at the Jiangsu aircraft factory.
Helicopter Z-8
From December 1975 to April 1977, China received a batch of 12 SA 321 Super Frelon helicopters in anti-submarine and search and rescue versions. In 1976, the leadership of the PRC decides to establish in the country the production of a copy of the Super Frelon helicopter. The Chinese version of the machine was designated Z-8.
The first flight of the prototype took place in December 1985. Deliveries to the customer began in 1989. The helicopters were assembled at the CAIC Aircraft Corporation in Jingdezhen (Jiangxi Province). Refurbishment was also carried out here.
Helicopter Z-8
The Z-8 helicopter is in service with the PLA Air Force and Navy in four main versions: transport, anti-submarine, search and rescue and ambulance. Can carry up to 39 people or up to 27 equipped troops. In the sanitary variant, 15 wounded stretchers and medical equipment are provided on board. The anti-submarine Z-8 is capable of carrying sonar buoys, torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and sea mines. The maximum payload weight is 5 kg. Crew: 000–2 people, depending on modification.
The maximum takeoff weight reaches 13 kg. The power plant is three WZ-000 turboshaft engines (a copy of Turboméca Turmo IIIC) with a capacity of 6 hp each. With. Maximum flight speed - 1 km / h, cruising - 156 km / h, flight range - 250 km.
The PLA operated both amphibious variants and those that cannot land on water.
The production of Z-8 helicopters was not carried out at a high pace (no more than 7 helicopters were assembled per year). To date, approximately 110 helicopters of this type have been built.
In 2018, the PLA Army Aviation Command announced that it would begin phasing out the Z-8 due to poor performance and high operating costs.
Helicopter Z-9
In July 1980, the Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (HAMS) entered into an agreement with the French company Aerospatiale to assemble 50 AS 365N Dauphin II multi-purpose helicopters from French parts. In China, this machine received the designation Z-9. The first helicopters of this type were assembled in China in 1981.
One of the first Z-9 helicopters
In 1994, the Z-9B helicopter was adopted, assembled mainly from parts made in China. The mass production of this helicopter made it possible to begin replacing the hopelessly outdated Z-5.
Very streamlined shape combined with two WZ-8 engines (a copy of Turbomeca Arriel 2) with up to 830 hp. With. provide a flight speed of up to 306 km / h. The maximum takeoff weight is 3 kg. Flight range - 900 km.
The Z-9B helicopter was a significant step forward for the PLA army aviation, it could carry out the tasks of transporting 8-10 armed fighters, rescue, communications, and command and control. Soon an armed variant appeared, capable of providing fire support to ground units. For this, blocks with 57–90 mm NAR, containers with 12,7 mm machine guns and 23 mm cannons could be suspended.
In the future, a licensed copy of the French helicopter has undergone a major revision. Modification Z-9W was the first anti-tank helicopter created in China. For the first time, a variant equipped with four HJ-8E ATGMs and a sighting and surveillance gyro-stabilized system installed in the upper part of the cockpit was demonstrated in 1998.
Helicopters Z-9W
However, it is impossible to call the Z-9W a full-fledged attack helicopter due to its low survivability. Rather, it is a transport-combat vehicle with some anti-tank capabilities.
In 2011, the Z-9WA modification was officially introduced, designed for operations at night. The helicopter is equipped with a night vision system and a new laser rangefinder-designator. The crew got multifunctional flat displays and a system for displaying information on the windshield. The armament of the Z-9WA included the HJ-9 ATGM with laser guidance.
The real characteristics of the latest modifications of the Z-9, intended for "internal consumption", are not reliably known. Since 2003, deliveries of helicopters with Chinese-made engines with a takeoff power of 980 hp have begun. With. Despite the expiration of the license agreement, the serial construction of multifunctional helicopters based on the French Dolphin continues, which has become the subject of disputes between France and China.
Helicopter Z-10
Unlike the USSR and the United States, during the Cold War, the PLA did not have specialized attack helicopters. The development of rotorcraft of this class from scratch requires certain scientific and technical developments and the availability of a design school, and the leadership of the PRC, as part of friendship with the West against the Soviet Union, hoped for foreign assistance.
Chinese generals wanted to get a combat helicopter capable of fighting tanks and provide fire support day and night, in difficult weather conditions. In the second half of the 1980s, the Chinese hoped to get access to the A.129 Mangusta anti-tank helicopter being developed in Italy, and in 1988 an agreement was reached with the Americans on the sale of the AH-1 Cobra (not implemented due to the imposition of sanctions against China) and licenses for production of ATGM BGM-71 TOW. Shortly before the events in Tiananmen Square, France delivered a small batch of SA anti-tank helicopters to China. 342 Gazelle with ATGM NOT.
After the normalization of relations between Russia and China, an export Mi-35 was offered. However, by that time, Chinese experts had already become familiar with the widespread Mi-25 (an export version of the Mi-24D combat helicopter) and considered it too heavy and bulky. In addition, the aiming and search systems of Soviet combat helicopters were largely outdated by that time. And the Mi-24 itself, created as a "flying infantry fighting vehicle", was more often used as an attack aircraft, mainly weapons which had unguided rockets, and the PLA command wanted to be armed with a maneuverable and at the same time well-protected two-seater, comparable to the American Apache and having a high anti-tank potential.
As a result, it was decided to design a combat helicopter independently, using the most successful foreign developments.
The program for the creation of a combat helicopter in the PRC was strictly classified, and strictly dosed conflicting data were given in the media. This was largely due to the fact that the provision of military technology to China was prohibited due to sanctions imposed by the United States after the events in Tiananmen Square, and the creation and supply of a number of key components and assemblies by European and American companies was motivated by civilian projects. All equipment ordered in the West was allegedly intended for a medium-class civilian helicopter.
The Chinese managed to mislead "Western partners" for about 10 years. Thus, Eurocopter and Agusta received more than $100 million for assistance in the development of the transmission, control system and five-blade main rotor. The helicopter cockpit parts and avionics largely repeat the products of Thomson CSF and Thales. The Chinese attack helicopter, designated the Z-10, uses the American MIL-STD-1553 data bus.
The media published information that the Z-10 used a sighting and surveillance system created by the South African company Advanced Technologies and Engineering (ATE). United Technologies, a subsidiary of Pratt & Whitney Canada, has delivered a batch of PT6C-76C engines to China's Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC). However, after the intervention of the US government, United Technologies was fined $ 75 million. The cessation of supplies of American engines somewhat slowed down the process of fine-tuning and adopting the Z-10.
As a result, serial helicopters are equipped with two Chinese Zhuzhou WZ-9 turboshaft engines with a takeoff power of 1 hp. With.
In addition to Western assistance, in 1995 a secret agreement was concluded with the Russian side, according to which the Kamov Design Bureau and CAIC created a joint design team that worked on a catalog of drawings for 2,5 years. According to a representative of the Russian company, the engineering and calculation group of the Kamov Design Bureau carried out design work in accordance with the parameters and layout proposed by the Chinese side.
In parallel with legal and semi-legal deliveries from the West and Russian design support, Chinese technical intelligence was actively collecting information regarding the AN-64A Apache and PAH-2 (HAP) Tiger helicopters.
So, on the Chinese Z-10 helicopter, a helmet-mounted aiming system is used, similar to the American Honeywell M142 Integrated Helmet. Flights at night are provided with equipment built on the basis of French and Israeli developments.
Combat helicopter Z-10
Thus, the Z-10 helicopter has become a conglomerate of Western components and technologies, but at the same time it was created by Chinese specialists, and, unlike the Z-9, it is not initially based on a foreign design. Photos of the Z-10 in flight appeared in 2006.
According to Western experts, the capabilities of the Z-10 helicopter crew in terms of searching for targets and using guided weapons roughly correspond to the American An-64A helicopter. However, the security of the Chinese helicopter is inferior to American and Russian vehicles of this class. At the same time, the Z-10 is equipped with all the necessary equipment for counteracting air defense systems and sensors for detecting radar and laser radiation.
Western experts say that the equipment installed on Chinese vehicles is comparable to the analogues available on Apaches, Mongooses and Tigers. If Chinese combat helicopters are still inferior to modern foreign attack rotorcraft in ballistic protection and weight perfection, then there is no reason to doubt the level of Chinese electronics. The airborne self-defense system, known as the YH-96, automatically analyzes possible threats and, if necessary, can independently generate interference and shoot thermal and radar traps. Navigation is provided by Beidou satellite positioning system signal receivers.
According to information voiced in the Chinese media, some of the Z-10 helicopters are equipped with millimeter-wave radar. Allegedly, this station is in no way inferior to the American AN / APG-78 Longbow. The Chinese radar, known as the YH MMZ FCR, weighs about 70 kg, which is significantly less than the mass of the Arbalet radar used on the Mi-28N.
The flight data of the Z-10 combat helicopter is not known for certain. Apparently, the maximum takeoff weight is in the range of 6–700 kg. Based on the ratio of power plant power and mass, it can be assumed that the maximum speed of the helicopter is about 7000 km/h, and the rate of climb is 300 m/s. According to information published in the Chinese media: the flight range exceeds 10 km, and a combat load weighing 800 kg can be placed on external hardpoints.
The Z-10 helicopter is armed with a mobile artillery mount with a 23 mm cannon. However, the Chinese military is not satisfied with the power of the 23-mm projectile, and therefore it was decided to use a 25-mm cannon, created on the basis of the American M242 Bushmaster.
Units with 57–90 mm NAR caliber 57–90 mm, containers with 7,62 mm, 12,7 mm or 14,5 mm multi-barreled machine guns or 35–40 mm can be placed on four external hardpoints automatic grenade launchers. TY-90 missiles with a launch range of up to 8 km or PL-7 and PL-9 with a range of up to 15 km are designed to combat an air enemy. However, the HJ-10 guided missiles are considered the main weapon. Western reference books write that this missile is the Chinese analogue of the AGM-114 Hellfire ATGM.
The number of Z-10 helicopters available in the PLA army aviation is not exactly known. But according to a calculation made on the basis of freely available satellite images, there may be about 120 units.
Satellite image of Google Earth: a Z-10 helicopter with an overhead radar at Baoding Air Base
In addition, information was announced that specially modified Z-10s, along with the Z-8s, were included in the air groups based on the Type 071 amphibious assault ships and are intended for fire support of the landing.
It is known about a new modification of the Chinese combat helicopter Z-10 with an engine capable of providing power up to 1 hp on takeoff. With. With the same geometric dimensions, the maximum takeoff weight of the upgraded Z-800 can reach 10 kg. That is, to approach this indicator closely to the "Apache". Apparently, the reserve capacity will be used to increase security, combat load and fuel tank capacity.
Helicopter Z-11
In the second half of the 1980s, a license was transferred to China for the production of the Eurocopter AS.350 Ecureuil helicopter. Production of the French "Ecurey" began in 1977, and this very successful light helicopter was popular with buyers in different countries.
The first flight of the Chinese "Ekurey", which received the designation Z-11, took place in 1998. At first, when assembling light helicopters, French Turbomeca Arriel 2B engines with an 847 horsepower were installed. With. But later they were replaced by Chinese WZ-8D.
Helicopter Z-11
Initially, the Z-11 was used as a "flying ambulance", to deliver urgent correspondence and VIPs. Since the Chinese army was in dire need of helicopters for reconnaissance, observation and adjustment of artillery fire, artillery observers and radio stations were mounted on several machines to communicate with ground units.
In 2005, the Z-11W entered service, intended mainly for special operations forces. The helicopter has a sighting system located above the cockpit and is armed with four HJ-8 ATGMs. Instead of guided missiles, six-barreled 7,62 mm CS / LM12 machine guns, 40 mm LG3 automatic grenade launchers or blocks with 57 mm NAR can be suspended. The total weight of the combat load reaches 450 kg.
The helicopter with a maximum takeoff weight of 2 kg can accommodate two pilots and three paratroopers. In the fire support variant, an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 200 l can be installed in the passenger compartment. Without the use of an additional fuel tank, the flight range is 225 km. The maximum flight speed is 580 km / h. Cruising - 278 km / h.
Helicopter Z-11WB
Light combat helicopter Z-11WB is equipped with a movable thermal imaging camera and a laser rangefinder-target designator. This machine is capable of carrying a wide range of weapons: laser, thermal and television-guided missiles, FT-9 and YZ-212D small-sized guided bombs, TY-90 air-to-air missiles and a variety of machine-gun and cannon containers. The export value of a light attack helicopter capable of fighting at night, equipped with advanced optoelectronic equipment and modern weapons systems, is about $10 million, which makes it attractive to poor countries.
Helicopter Z-19
Simultaneously with the creation of the Z-10 attack helicopter in China, they decided to play it safe and, on the basis of a fairly well-mastered Z-9, make a relatively light reconnaissance and strike vehicle. Compared to the weakly protected Z-9W armed with ATGMs, the new two-seat Z-19 is better suited for aerial reconnaissance and ground strikes. At the same time, the risk of failure, compared with the Z-10 created from scratch, was much less.
The rejection of the passenger cabin while maintaining the same flight data and maximum takeoff weight made it possible to improve the security and the number of weapons on board. With the old power plant, the Z-19 helicopter became shorter by about 1,5 m. It had a narrower fuselage and a tandem cockpit.
Helicopter Z-19
The first flight of the Z-19, developed by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (HAMC), took place in May 2010. Since the Z-19 largely used the well-developed components and assemblies of the Z-9 helicopter and the avionics already tested on the first prototypes of the Z-10, the tests went very quickly. Despite the fact that the head prototype of the Z-19 was broken in September 2010, military tests of the first pre-production batch began in 2011.
Thanks to the fenestron-type tail rotor and a number of noise reduction measures, the acoustic visibility of the Z-19 is much lower than that of many other combat helicopters. In addition, the thermal and radar visibility is reduced compared to the Z-9.
The Z-19 does not have a movable cannon turret, instead there is a ball with optoelectronic aiming and search equipment and night vision devices, as well as a laser rangefinder-target designator. To fend off various kinds of threats, the attack and reconnaissance helicopter is equipped with sensors and defensive systems similar to those used on the Z-10.
The Z-19 helicopter is capable of carrying a wide range of weapons, including laser-guided ATGMs, NAR units and suspended machine gun and cannon containers. The weight of the combat load on external nodes was not officially announced, but according to expert estimates, it can reach 700–800 kg.
Helicopter Z-19 with over-hub radar
There are pictures of the Z-19 with a millimeter-wave over-hull radar and an HJ-10 ATGM. The same radar station is designed for installation on Z-10 combat helicopters.
There is no information about the security of the helicopter. It can be assumed that the cockpit and the most important parts of the Z-19 can withstand the shelling of rifle-caliber bullets.
The flight data of the Z-19 is at the level of the armed version of the Z-9. A helicopter with a maximum takeoff weight of 4 kg, with a full fuel tank, is capable of staying in the air for 500 hours. During this time, he can fly about 4 km.
The maximum flight speed is 280 km / h. Cruising - 240 km / h. The power plant consists of two WZ-8C turboshaft engines with an HP 940 power. With.
At present, more than a hundred Z-19 light reconnaissance and attack helicopters have been delivered to the Chinese armed forces. Often they enter mixed helicopter crews, where the Z-10 is also operated.
To be continued ...
Information