Z-10, Z-19 armed helicopter thread
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
Like this one?
Yes and must admit I‘m slowly loosing my patience since some of these idiots are either too stupid to notice between the difference of „this particular image is a PS“ and their interpretation - or intentionally spreading of - I had said „the whole deal is fake“!
But again, you cannot feed a dead horse even more so when it‘s already brain-dead.
It added extra weight, mean carry less weapon,hinder the manuevility .
How Russia Designed China's First Modern Combat Helicopter
04.08.2025
Many aviation enthusiasts know that in the modern line of weapons of the Chinese army, a significant number of combat vehicles and systems have Soviet/Russian roots. Today we will tell you how specialists of the Kamov Design Bureau created the first modern combat helicopter of the Chinese army Z-10 (WZ-10) in the 1990s. The development of this machine was carried out under the designation "project 941" in the most difficult time, when the Yeltsin pro-American regime practically stopped financing the domestic military-industrial complex.
In the early 1990s, the Kamov Design Bureau, like the entire Russian defense industry, faced a critical situation. "Economic reforms," including the so-called "shock therapy," led to a sharp reduction in state defense orders. Budgetary financing of advanced developments virtually ceased, wage arrears at industry enterprises reached several months (or even more), and there was a massive outflow of highly qualified personnel. Under these conditions, a contract with the People's Republic of China to develop a preliminary design for a new attack helicopter became an important source of stable financing for the Kamov Design Bureau.
In 1994, a contract was signed between the Kamov Design Bureau and the China Helicopter Research Institute (CHRDI), part of the AVIC corporation, to carry out a preliminary design based on the customer's technical specifications. The initial data, which included detailed requirements for the machine, were received by the Kamov team on June 12, 1995. The technical specifications called for the creation of an attack helicopter with a tandem cockpit and a classic tail rotor configuration. A gas turbine engine of known weight, size and power characteristics was specified as the power plant. The armament was to include a 23 mm AM-23 cannon, 90-1 type ATGM, 12.7 mm suspended machine gun gondolas and unguided rocket pods. The requirements detailed the viewing angles, the presence of an anti-icing system, structural crew protection, an onboard defense system, a sight with a head-up display (HUD). The on-board radio-electronic equipment (avionics) had to be implemented using an open architecture in accordance with the Western standard MIL-STD-1553B.
The General Designer of the Kamov Design Bureau S. V. Mikheyev formed a working group under the leadership of V. Dorin (Head of the Technical Projects Department) to implement the project, which received the internal designation "941". The group included the leading specialists of the design bureau: aerodynamicist E. Petrosyan (calculations were performed by V. Kvokov), head of the weighing brigade A. Pirogov, head of the power plant department V. Demyanov, transmission specialist V. Kolmakov. A. Makagon was engaged in the coordination of the onboard equipment complex. The development of the general layout, power scheme, fuselage contours and their mutual coordination were supervised by S. Nosov. The technical execution of the documentation was carried out by L. Vasilyeva. As necessary, specialists in strength, weapons and systems were involved.
Work on Project 941 was carried out in stages, each of which was defended before the Chinese customer to receive the next portion of funding. These regular payments were critical to maintaining the activities of the Kamov Design Bureau and pilot production during the acute financial crisis, allowing the key engineering team to be retained and work to continue on other topics, such as the Ka-31 radar patrol helicopter, the Ka-52 attack helicopter, the light multipurpose Ka-226, and the Ka-37 unmanned aircraft. High-quality and prompt translation of technical documentation and questions from the Chinese side testified to the customer's serious attitude to the project.
On January 11, 1996, S.V. Mikheyev approved the general layout drawing of "Project 941". The full set of documentation, including the layout and the results of wind tunnel tests of the model in TsAGI, was handed over to the customer. The defense of the final part of the preliminary design took place in China. The subsequent trip of Kamov Design Bureau representatives to China included a discussion of further work, including the possible creation of a full-scale model.
Although the Chinese side independently carried out further development, design and technological elaboration and launch of the helicopter, which received the designation Z-10 (or WZ-10), into series production, the influence of the Kamov OKB preliminary design was fundamental. The external appearance of the serial WZ-10 almost completely corresponded to the design developed under the supervision of S. Nosov and approved by S.V. Mikheyev in 1996, including elements that were subsequently assessed as suboptimal.
Attempts to expand cooperation, in particular to agree on the transfer of composite rotor blade manufacturing technology (developed by Kamov Design Bureau back in 1963) to China, were unsuccessful due to price disagreements. China subsequently turned to Western suppliers for these technologies, spending significant funds. Nevertheless, the contract for the Z-10 preliminary design played an important role in preserving Kamov Design Bureau as a viable design team with unique competencies during the most difficult period of post-Soviet economic chaos in the 1990s.
ps Today, the PLA Air Force (People's Liberation Army Air Force of China) has at least 210 WZ-10 attack helicopters in service. The prototype made its first flight in 2003, and serial production of the helicopter was launched in 2010-11. In 2019, Chinese helicopters of this model took part in joint exercises with Russia in the Chelyabinsk region. In 2025, the Z-10ME modification was exported from China for the first time - to Pakistan.
With a maximum takeoff weight of about 8 tons, the serial Chinese helicopter, which was developed by specialists from the Kamov Design Bureau, is equipped with two Zhuzhou WZ-9 or WZ-9C engines (a version of the French Turbomeca Arriel 2C turboshaft engine) with a capacity of 1300-1600 hp and can fly at a speed of up to 270 km/h. The maximum range is 800 km. The helicopter carries 1.5 tons of combat load on 4 suspension units and one 23-mm cannon.