Z-10 thread
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franco-russe
Senior Member
The highest Z-9 production number seen was Z9-0539 (Hong Kong Helicopter Regiment 6202).
The number of all versions believed to be in PLA service is 362+
Army Aviation 300
Naval Aviation 25
Air Force 37 + probably many more at the Xi'an Flying School 1 Training Brigade Huxian.
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Not actually a WZ-10 story but according to China Defence Blog the new WZ-9D attack helicopter with TL-10 missiles of which the prototype first flew in 2008 has been cancelled and the prototype is now sitting in storage. Seems logical since all WZ-9 models have been superseded by the WZ-10 and the WZ-19.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
I wonder if the red curtain is for the night vision training.
Some have questioned the calibre of the chain gun not being 23mm. I'd say it looks like it could be by the way this guy is grasping the end of the barrel.
Some have questioned the calibre of the chain gun not being 23mm. I'd say it looks like it could be by the way this guy is grasping the end of the barrel.
I wonder if the red curtain is for the night vision training.
Some have questioned the calibre of the chain gun not being 23mm. I'd say it looks like it could be by the way this guy is grasping the end of the barrel.
14.5mm is my best guess... Enough to take out light armour like scout car and armour personnel carrier. While lesser mechanism complexity and ensure enough accuracy for helo to shoot due to lighter recoil.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
It's only in the Gunners Position assuming The PLA went with the proper Gunner front Pilot above configuration. It might be too help the gunner train using only the helmet mounted display for input. That gun could still be 20mm anything lower then that would IMO be a waste.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
The 'curtain' is only seen on one of the Z10s and never in any of other Z10 pictures we have seen, and that makes me doubt if it was some deliberate measure. Since these birds are down and undergoing field maintenance, it could just be something the ground crews were using that was just stuffed into a corner when the picture was taken.
I am also not sure how much the old 'pilot on top, gunner below' arrangement still applies to attack helo pilots.
Many if not most modern militaries that operate attack helos now operate under the 'co-pilot gunner' system, whereby both pilots are equally qualified to fly the helo and operate the weapons systems, with both cockpits offering the full array of functionality to allow either to fly the plane or operate the weapons systems.
This approach is more costly in terms of training of the crew, but offers many significant advantages in the form of increased survivability (the helo won't crash if one pilot was taken out or his controls disabled/damaged), better operational flexibility (the pilots can switch roles at will, if one pilot sees something through the gun camera when operating the weapons, he can take over flying to find/investigate instead of having to verbally direct the other pilot to do so/sometimes, taking control yourself is faster and offers a better chance of evading an attack than shouting a warning etc) and improved logistical flexibility in that any pilot can fulfill any role, so if you loose a gunner through attrition or illness or whatever, any spare pilot can take his place instead of needing a new guy trained specifically as a gunner.
I am also not sure how much the old 'pilot on top, gunner below' arrangement still applies to attack helo pilots.
Many if not most modern militaries that operate attack helos now operate under the 'co-pilot gunner' system, whereby both pilots are equally qualified to fly the helo and operate the weapons systems, with both cockpits offering the full array of functionality to allow either to fly the plane or operate the weapons systems.
This approach is more costly in terms of training of the crew, but offers many significant advantages in the form of increased survivability (the helo won't crash if one pilot was taken out or his controls disabled/damaged), better operational flexibility (the pilots can switch roles at will, if one pilot sees something through the gun camera when operating the weapons, he can take over flying to find/investigate instead of having to verbally direct the other pilot to do so/sometimes, taking control yourself is faster and offers a better chance of evading an attack than shouting a warning etc) and improved logistical flexibility in that any pilot can fulfill any role, so if you loose a gunner through attrition or illness or whatever, any spare pilot can take his place instead of needing a new guy trained specifically as a gunner.
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