Changhe Z-10

Z-10
A Z-10 displaying at the 2012 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition.
General information
TypeAttack helicopter
ManufacturerChanghe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC)
Designer602nd Aircraft Design Institute[1]
Kamov Design Bureau[1]
StatusIn service[2]
Primary userPeople's Liberation Army Ground Force
People's Liberation Army Air Force
Pakistan Army Aviation Corps
History
Manufactured2003-present
Introduction date2009
First flight29 April 2003[3]

The Changhe Z-10 (Chinese: 直-10; pinyin: Zhí-Shí; lit. 'helicopter-10') is a Chinese medium-weight, twin-turboshaft attack helicopter built by the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Ground Force. Designed by 602nd Aircraft Design Institute of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and Kamov Design Bureau,[1] the aircraft is intended primarily for anti-tank warfare missions with secondary air-to-air combat capability.

The plan to develop a medium-weight helicopter program was initiated in 1994 with the attack helicopter program formally beginning in 1998. The preliminary design of the aircraft was provided by Kamov, while prototyping was conducted by the 602nd Aircraft Design Institute of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).[4][5][6][7] The Z-10 first flew on 29 April 2003[3] and entered Chinese Army Aviation service in 2009.[8][9][10]

Nicknames of characters in the Chinese classic novel Water Margin have been used to name Z-10 and its light-weight counterpart, the Harbin Z-19 by Chinese Army Aviation Corps; Z-10 is called Fierce Thunderbolt (Pi Li Huo, 霹雳火), the nickname of Qin Ming, while Z-19 is called Black Whirlwind (Hei Xuan Feng, 黑旋风), the nickname of Li Kui.[11][12][13]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference td_200226 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "China's 1st attack helo goes operational? - The DEW Line". The DEW Line. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b "直10首飞20周年："霹雳火"铁翼飞旋二十载". ST Daily. 28 April 2023.
  4. ^ Majumdar, Dave (7 March 2013). "HELI-EXPO: Chinese WZ-10 attack helicopter based on Kamov design". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  5. ^ Donald, David (15 March 2013). "Kamov Reveals Involvement in China's Z-10 Attack Helicopter". Aviation International News. Midland Park, New Jersey. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Russian Roots Revealed In China's Z-10". Aviation Week. 7 March 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  7. ^ Ingersoll, Geoffrey (8 March 2013). "China's Cutting-Edge Attack Helicopter Is Actually A Russian Design". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference voa_1308 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference pd_12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference xinhua_1707 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Rupprecht, Andreas (1 March 2018). "CHINA'S ARMY AVIATION". Key Military.
  12. ^ "直10直19绰号"霹雳火""黑旋风"取自水浒传". Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  13. ^ Copyright@中国时刻网、深圳广播电影电视集团. "官方公布武直10及武直19名称：霹雳火与黑旋风". Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2015.