WZ-10 Z-10 Caic
| a | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WZ-10 or Z-10 Attack helicopter
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Z-10 or WZ-10 is a Chinese-made attack helicopter designed and manufactured by the Company Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) of China. The primary mission for the Z-10 is anti-tank missions, eliminating the enemy ground fixed and mobile forces, and secondary air-to-air combat missions. Development of the dedicated attack helicopter Z-10 began in the mid-1990s at the 602 Institute and Changhe Aircraft Industry Company (CHAIC) in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. In May 2002, the WZ-10 tail rotor and some other components were tested on the ground by the 602nd Research Institute. In April 2003, a WZ-10 prototype completed its maiden flight at Lumeng airfield. In the end of 2001, the final test was completed on the full-scale rotary test platform, paving the way for test flights. According to Chinese sources, the initial test flights were concluded on December 17, 2003, whereas according to other sources they were completed nine month earlier in March 2003. By 2004 3 more prototypes were built, for a total of 6, and a second stage of test flights were concluded on December 15, 2004. A third stage of intensive test flights followed, taking place during both day and night. By January 2006 weaponry and sensor tests, including firing of live ammunition, were taking place. By 2012 the Z-10 helicopter was in production, and initial batches were delivered to the People's Liberation Army of China in 2009 and 2010. The Z-10 was unveiled for the first time to the public during the AirShow China 2012 in Zhuhai. Several China's independently-developed WZ-10 armed helicopters of an army aviation regiment under the Shenyang Military Area Command (MAC) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) carried out air-to-ground missile firing tests in airspace of south Liaoning province on November 12, 2012. Despite the extreme climate conditions, the helicopters achieved a hundred percent hit rate. Characterized by excellent flight performances and extreme low-altitude maneuverability, the Z-10 helicopter can be equipped with multiple air-to-air and air-to-ground precision-guided weapons, and possess the daytime and nighttime combat capabilities. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Variants | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
- No variants
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 Back menu |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Design | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Z-10 has a conventional attack helicopter layout, with the pilot and weapons operator seated in tandem, stepped cockpits. . The flight control of both aviators serves to back each other up, and the pilot, who is also the team leader of the aircrew, may override the gunner’s commands. The bottom and sides of the cockpit are protected by composite armor, and so are the engines and the fuel tank located in the middle of the fuselage. Composite material is widely used in the WZ-10 but China faced difficulties in this field, particularly in the area of survivability during crashes. The fuselage has a sloped side to reduce its radar cross section (RCS), and is slender and tapered to the rear, with fixed landing gear. The tail boom tapers to the rear, with a high, swept-back fin with square tip. The flats are unequally tapered with a square tip, while the belly fin has the rear landing wheel attached. The tail rotor is mounted on the right side. The WZ-10 has a non-conventional design that uses composite and radar absorbent materials. The cabin's bulletproof glass may resist 7.62 millimeter ammunition and composite armor under the cabin resists 12.7 millimeters machine gun fires. The cabin is equipped to maximize fire protection and the WZ-10 is also outfitted with ejection seats.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propulsion | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Z-10 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67C turboshaft engines with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The engines have a maximum continuous power of 1,531hp (1,142kw) each. The main rotor is mounted in the midsection of the fuselage, consisted of a total of five blades. The 4-blade tail rotor utilizes the similar to the tail rotor of AH-64, with two pairs at unequal distance instead of 4 blades at the equal distance, and one of the main purposes of such arrangement was to reduce noise. The tail rotor blades are consisted of a total of 11 layers of glass-reinforced plastic and composite material, enable them to sustain direct bullet hits.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Avionics | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Z-10 helicopter is fitted with onboard inertial navigation system fully integrated with GPS/GLONASS system, and provisions are made for future upgrades to include Galileo (satellite navigation)/Beidou navigation system when expanded capabilities of these systems become available. The electronic warfare (EW) system of WZ-10 is the first Chinese EW system that integrates the radar, radar warning receivers (RWR), laser warning receivers (LWR), electronic support measures (ESM) and electronic counter-measures (ECM) together. The system is designated YH-96, named after the YH radar. YH-96 is claimed to have a high interception rate of hostile signals, and in the fully automatic mode, it can automatically analyze the threat and launch different decoys and jamming signals accordingly. Alternatively, pilots can choose to launch decoys or jamming enemy sensors themselves. . The identification friend or foe (IFF) system of WZ-10 is specially designed to work in an environment of heavy enemy jamming. All internally mounted jamming and decoy launching systems are built with the concept of modular design, so that they can be readily replaced when newer technologies become available. An observation unit consisting of a forward looking infrared (FLIR) and a low-light television is mounted on a steerable platform at the nose of the helicopter. The electronic countermeasures (ECM) suite consists of radar warning receiver (RWR), laser warning receiver, infrared jammer and chaff / flare decoy dispenser. In addition to the millimeter wave fire control radar and optronic FCS, pilots of WZ-10 has another FCS, the helmet mounted sight (HMS). The Z-10 helicopter can be equipped with the millimeter wave (MMW) fire-control radar (FCR). MMW FCR is fully integrated with other subsystems of the onboard electronic warfare system, such as radar warning receivers (RWR), laser warning receivers (LWR), electronic support measures (ESM), and electronic countermeasures (ECM), with the entire EW system on board WZ-10 named after the radar. Final radar deployment configuration has yet to be determined.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessories | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Z-10 helicopter is fitted with a ‘fly-by-wire‘ (FBW) control system, and a modern glass cockpit with multifunctional display (MFD) screens. The helicopter crew may also be equipped with a helmet-mounted sight (HMS) for head-up display of information and weapon control.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Armament | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Z-10 helicopter is armed with a 23mm cannon mounted under the nose. Two stub wings provide four stores stations for external ordinance. The main air-to-air missile deployed by WZ-10 is TY-90, a missile specifically designed for use by helicopters in aerial combat. The helicopter can carry up to eight missiles under the stub wings for anti-armour role. Alternatively, the helicopter can carry unguided rocket pods for ground attack, or TY-90 short-range air-to-air missiles for air combat. The turret is flexible enough to incorporate configurations such as a single barrel machine gun and an automatic grenade launcher with calibers ranging from 30 mm to 40 mm. WZ-10 can be armed with a wide variety of unguided rockets ranging from 20 mm to 130 mm caliber. The largest rockets tested were a type of 130 mm rocket that were carried on the hard-points just as missiles are carried, while smaller caliber rockets were mounted in conventional rocket pods. The most frequently used rockets are those ranging from 57 mm to 90 mm and a total of 4 pods can be carried under the stub wings, one under each hard-point. A family of 90 mm rackets produced by the subsidiary of Norinco, the Harbin Jiancheng Group, was first revealed at the 9th Zhuhai Airshow held in November 2012, designated as Tianjian, or Tian Jian, meaning Sky Arrow.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back menu |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
