Chinese rotary-wing plans spur rise in stature of PLA Army Aviation forces

Richard D Fisher Jr, Washington, DC - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
02 September 2013


Z-10 attack helicopters are used by the recently formed PLA Army Aviation Thunder Flight aerobatic team. Source: Via Top81 website





Revelations about China's advanced rotary-wing research programmes potentially point to the Army Aviation forces of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) becoming one of the world's most technically advanced combat units.

A 28 August article on the website of the China Helicopter Research Institute (CHRDI) of the Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) consortium offered new details on three programmes currently in development, with reference to the advanced helicopter concepts in the movie Avatar.

The Blue Whale is a four-engine quad tilt-rotor concept with a payload of 20 tonnes, a speed of 538 kh/h, a ferry range of 8,016 km and a combat radius of 815 km. It will be a vertical/short take-off or landing (V/STOL)-capable platform with redundant power distribution in the event of engine failure, composite material construction, advanced fly-by-light control systems, and 'intelligent' avionics that reduce pilot workload. The programme is reminiscent of the now dormant US Bell-Boeing V-44 Quad TiltRotor programme - an attempt to develop a V/STOL transport platform of the size and performance of a C-130 fixed-wing transport aircraft. The US project lost favour following weight increases in the new AFVs being planned for the US Army's Future Combat Systems programme, which in turn was cancelled in 2009.

A second CHRDI programme, the K800 vertical take-off unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV), is focused on developing future high-speed helicopters. The K800 utilises an advancing rotor concept likely to employ a co-axial main rotor with an additional propeller for horizontal thrust. It has a weight of 800 kg and a designed speed of 450 km/h. The programme is similar to that represented by two models of co-axial rotor VTUAVs displayed at last November's Zhuhai Airshow 2012 as part of the so-called 'Avant Courier' concept - one with an aft-mounted horizontal-thrust propeller like the US Sikorsky X2, and a second with two side-mounted propellers similar to the Eurocopter X3.

A third CHRDI concept is a 'Clean Energy Helicopter', a VTUAV that uses advanced lithium-ion batteries.

The article also mentioned other advanced concepts, including the Platypus disc-rotor concept seen at the last Zhuhai show, which was said to be the winner of a nationwide 'Innovation Cup' competition; a concept to develop a VTUAV for launch by artillery rocket to provide long-distance artillery targeting; and a novel underwater vehicle that can convert to a helicopter.

According to Chinese military press reports, since 2003 control of the Army Aviation Bureau has been moved from the Ground Forces of the PLA to a position directly subordinate to the General Staff Department of the Central Military Commission. This may mean that as a strategic striking force it has a prominence that approaches that of the Airborne Forces, which are usually under the peacetime command of the PLA Air Force. Army Aviation's increasing resources are reflected in the build-up of new brigades combining multiple helicopter regiments. So far the Lanzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Chengdu Military Area (Region) Commands have new Army Aviation brigades, with some sources speculating that by the 2020s the PLA could have 10 such brigades with around 1,000 helicopters.

Today the PLA's Army Aviation force has approximately 600 helicopters that are either of foreign origin or are based on foreign designs. Army Aviation operates nearly 300 of the Russian Mil Mi-8/17 family acquired since the early 1990s, and a similar number of Z-8 and Z-9 helicopters, respectively based on the Aerospatiale SA321 Super Frelon and the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin. However, new Z-19 and Z-10 attack helicopters - the former a development of the Z-9 and the latter developed with the help of Russia's Kamov design bureau - are now entering Army Aviation regiments. Z-10s comprise the recently formed PLA Army Aviation Thunder Flight aerobatic team.

Foreign helicopter technology remains important for China's Army Aviation, however. Recent Russian reports note there is continued Chinese interest in developing a new 40-tonne capable heavy lift helicopter. Web images showing a prototype being transported in a truck transport confirm that the 'Z-20' programme is now making progress toward production following the success of the Z-10. The Z-20, a 10-tonne helicopter similar to the Sikorsky S-70 and first seen in model form at the 2008 Zhuhai show, has been in development since the late 1990s.

China is also soon expected to fly its prototype of the seven-tonne advanced technology Z-15 - a co-developed version of the Eurocopter EC175.

http://www.janes.com/article/26593/c...viation-forces