PLAN Naval Helicopter & ASW Capability II
- Thread starter bd popeye
- Start date
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
A very nice photo of a very nice helo
Just what I wanted to see and they have developed from the Z8 platform they have but totally modernised
A large most likely rotating surface search radar under the nose with a dipping sonar for ASW work
So we have it for surface and sub surface engagments two areas of naval combat that PLAN really has to master
Question really is what onboard equipment and facilitys have they installed for processing and analysing the data and information? Can it do it all by itself or rely back to home station? It's a big helo and if they have installed all this for two naval roles then I would think it does not have enough space to carrying all of the on board equipment for information processing
Either way it's a huge step forward in naval aviation also for China it's a big leap in capability
They need to learn how to utilise this capability to get maximum out of the platform
Building a flat deck LHD/LHA for China would be very useful with that they could station a huge helicopter force equipped with Z18F and use them for anti submarine and anti surface screening as of now they will have to devote a serious amount of Liaoning air wing to commit for ASW or from the escorts
It's the kind of helicopter that wil serve PLAN well
Just what I wanted to see and they have developed from the Z8 platform they have but totally modernised
A large most likely rotating surface search radar under the nose with a dipping sonar for ASW work
So we have it for surface and sub surface engagments two areas of naval combat that PLAN really has to master
Question really is what onboard equipment and facilitys have they installed for processing and analysing the data and information? Can it do it all by itself or rely back to home station? It's a big helo and if they have installed all this for two naval roles then I would think it does not have enough space to carrying all of the on board equipment for information processing
Either way it's a huge step forward in naval aviation also for China it's a big leap in capability
They need to learn how to utilise this capability to get maximum out of the platform
Building a flat deck LHD/LHA for China would be very useful with that they could station a huge helicopter force equipped with Z18F and use them for anti submarine and anti surface screening as of now they will have to devote a serious amount of Liaoning air wing to commit for ASW or from the escorts
It's the kind of helicopter that wil serve PLAN well
That is a great pic! Thanks!
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
Quick update on the naval air arm
Looks like PLAN is pretty serious when it comes to rotary wing for the Liaoning carrier just as exciting as the J15 development
So far we have seen 3 new type of helos specially for the carrier they are
Good decision by PLAN to use Z8 platform rather than the Kamovs or the Z9C which are small units not that they are not going to use them they will use a mix of helos but having a large platform like Z8 is very advantageous
Z18 general transport
Z18 AEW variant
Z18 ASW variant
Looks like PLAN is pretty serious when it comes to rotary wing for the Liaoning carrier just as exciting as the J15 development
So far we have seen 3 new type of helos specially for the carrier they are
Good decision by PLAN to use Z8 platform rather than the Kamovs or the Z9C which are small units not that they are not going to use them they will use a mix of helos but having a large platform like Z8 is very advantageous
Z18 general transport
Z18 AEW variant
Z18 ASW variant
To add to Asif's post, here's some pics I have put together for each of the Z-18 types, more are included on :
Z-18 AEW Variant
Z-18 AEW Variant
Z-18 AEW Variant
Z-18 ASW Variant
Z-18 ASW Variant
Z-18 ASW Variant
Z-18 SAR/COD Variant
Z-18 SAR/COD Variant
Z-18 SAR/COD Variant
I am sure these will probably operate off of the carriers, the LPDs, and eventually off of LHAs or LHDs the PLAN builds.
Z-18 AEW Variant
Z-18 AEW Variant
Z-18 AEW Variant
Z-18 ASW Variant
Z-18 ASW Variant
Z-18 ASW Variant
Z-18 SAR/COD Variant
Z-18 SAR/COD Variant
Z-18 SAR/COD Variant
I am sure these will probably operate off of the carriers, the LPDs, and eventually off of LHAs or LHDs the PLAN builds.
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Unclear at this point, but very unlikely for STOBAR.
More likely when they build their first CATOBAR.
Until then, their new Z-18 AEW helos and their Ka-31s will be used.
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It is well possible to design a fixed wing AEW plane to use a ski ramp. However we have until now only seen an aerodynamic test article based on Y-7 resembling the US E-2 aircraft, not yet a prototype for a carrier borne aircraft. The fixed wing AEW aircraft might be intended for the next flattop which might have cats, probably then EM cats, and possibly integrated into the ski ramp.