What Happened to China's "Apache Attack Helicopter" ?

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This is China’s Z-10 the People’s Liberation Army's signature attack helicopter, also known as Fierce Thunderbolt. Some experts call it the Chinese Apache. Meanwhile the PLA even claim it’s better than their western counterparts. It does bear a striking resemblance to the American Apache but are they close siblings or distant kissin’ cousins? China claims this is their first domestically produced attack helicopter but we’ll see that’s not exactly true. Does the Z-10 really have the latest S-tier improvements in weaponry and avionics? I’m your average infantryman Chris Cappy hit that like and subscribe button and let's find out.

Written by: Chris Cappy & Armando Duarte Galan
Video Edited.by: Michael Michaelides

But China had a major problem because After that whole incident with Pratt and Whittney, they could no longer obtain the PWC engines, so they started using their own version, the WZ-9 Turboshaft engines. These were developed with Ukrainian and Russian assistance. According to an article from aviation week.com In 1994 A secret contract was signed with the Kamov Design Bureau of Russia in order to design the helicopter airframe. Each engine has a power of 1,000 kW and although it’s not as powerful as the first engine, it allowed for lower operational costs and freedom from all those pesky international political issues. Because of the lower power, the variant Z-10A has a reduced weight that includes a redesigned nose, twin 90-degree upward engine exhaust ports, less armor protection and a smaller weapon load. They had to cut the advanced sensor suite too and choose a moderate suite. Not perfect, but good enough for their purposes.

By 2016, the PLA announced that they had equipped all of its ground force aviation units with the Z-10. Chinese culture is known for their emphasis on symbolism and their attack helicopters are no different. Because their 2016 delivery marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the PLA’s aviation force.


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