075 LHD thread
- Thread starter nosh
- Start date
Pardon, I don't understand ...
... and from what I see and understand these are PLA Army Aviation helicopters assigned to the 71st LH Brigade? .. or do I miss something?
Hendrik_2000
Lieutenant General
Well that is not fair The helicopter industry in China is fairly recent and long winding development It take them 20 years to reverse Engineer super frelon into Z8 . First receive in 1977 it was not until 2002 when they build 12 of them. Then come the iteration period of another 10 years to improve it and end up with Z18. Only now they seem to be satisfied with the latest incarnation of Z18 with the new engine of WZ 6C and produced in large number But the priority seem to be given to the army version
It took them that long to reverse engineer Z20 And only now they produced the engine in large number, as we know from the leak of planned production of WZ 10 engine . Again the priority is given to the army air brigade
We only now see the navy version that is undergoing testing
Development of the so-called "10-tonne helicopter project" started in 2006, and the Z-20 made its first flight on 23 December 2013.
The same with Z10 attack helicopter, We all witness the troublesome and long winding development time close to 20 years.
| First flight | 29 April 2003 |
|---|---|
| Introduction | December 2012 |
That is the price you pay if you have to develop it on your own and cannot depend on outside help slow but steady progress I am pretty sure that the PLAN planner know what they are doing better than you guys fan boys here . It does not make sense building LHA without helicopter.
Peoples should not compare it US or Russia they have 30 or more lead when it come to helicopter
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asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
thats exactly what they have done
Hendrik_2000
Lieutenant General
Nope that is not what they done they just take their time until they ramp up the production . You have been bad mouthing the program for long time tell me what developing country developed 3 type of helicopter simultaneously PAkistan? that keep asking handout from China beggar cannot be choosy
Intrepid
Major
This is what it looks like.
It makes no sense to build production capacities for a short time that will not be used in 10 or 20 years. So they stretch the production so that the successor comes off the assembly line when everyone is served. And the Navy will only get their aircraft in 5 or 10 years.
As the youngest army aviation force in the whole army, an army aviation brigade of the 71st Army closely focused on mission mission requirements and extended the flight path from land to sea.
They are taking steps to enhanced combat capabilities covering land and sea operations.
Don't get me wrong and I think I'm quite well aware of the different types. My point is only that these LHDs will be operational let's say in about 5 years? I think this is not a too far-fetched estimation and even if AVIC surely can ramp up production within a quite short time especially when the Army Aviation is no longer the priority, but this again takes time and even more you need to establish the organisational structures, operational doctrines and procedures, tactics and most of all you need to train the pilots.
Therefore I know there might be still some time left but the better the pilots and aircraft are trained, the better they are prepared for operation and here I miss at least some info.
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
just like China have two carriers and only 24 x J15?
just like they have 8 x LPD and only ever deploy 4 x LCAC, 10 units in JNXC for 2 years
and now 2 x LHD and no helicopters
but keep telling yourself different story and ignore truth
Its not prudent to produce more than 24 J15 at this point, the next carrier (and ones after that) will need the CATOBAR versions of J15 anyways. Once 003 come out, it makes more sense to cross-deck CATOBAR versions of J15 onto Liaoning and Shandong. For now anyways, most of the time LN and SD will probably share the same aircraft. Producing 50 J15 to fill-out the 2 STOBARS would have represented a wasted and evolutionary dead end. PLAN's capabilities and growth trajectory is significantly greater than it was in the early 2000's when LN and SD were first planned (not constructed) to the point that these two carriers will be functionally irrelevant to the PLAN well before the end of 40-years useful life in the 2050's.
Agree that 4 LCACs was a mistake. Logistical costs to support just 4 LCAC's is prohibitive on a per unit basis. LCAC's aren't really that complex compared to other systems anyways (lets be honest, those turbines are much easier to make then WS-10s). Perhaps the PLAN thought they were also an evolutionary dead-end, or didn't fit into current or future doctrine. Still, might make sense to just scrap the LCACs to simplify maintenance costs, since 4 LCACs do not add materially to Marine expeditionary capabilities.