Actually, I see the development path of the Z19 to be far more similar to that of the AH1 than any didicated scout. Just as the AH1 is an UH1 stripped down to the core and remodelled for minimum profile and using the weight savings to add armor and weapons, the Z19 is a Z9 similarly stripped down and repurposed.
The obvious difference is that with the AH1, the goal was to create a gunship, whereas HAC was tasked with developing an armed scout.
Had they wanted to, they could have added a chain gun and heavier hard points to make it into a gunship like the Indians did with their LAH, but it would have been a compromise and decidedly second rate since the airframe simply lacked the protection, mobility and firepower to be an effective dedicated attack helo, yet the added weight from trying to make it so would also make it a second rate scout.
China already had the Z10, so there was no point in duplicating the effort, especially at such late stage in the game. Even if there was no Z10 I would still still think it would have been better to start with a clear slate and design a new dedicated attack helo from the ground up instead of modding a transport.
