Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts

China’s new attack helicopter Thunder Fire

Posted by FS On Friday, 16 November 2012 2 comments

China shows off its Z-10 attack helicopter at the country’s biggest air show. Sarah Charlton reports. The Daily News Post India Comments comments
China shows off its Z-10 attack helicopter at the country’s biggest air show. Sarah Charlton reports.

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Chinese ‘Thunder Fire’ helicopter to rival US ‘Apache’

Posted by FS On 0 comments

China has unveiled a new attack helicopter as it seeks to rival similar aircraft made by the United States and Russia, state media said. A unit of China Aviation Industry...
China has unveiled a new attack helicopter as it seeks to rival similar aircraft made by the United States and Russia, state media said.
A unit of China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) showed off the WZ-10, or “Thunder Fire”, for the first time in public at the country’s premier airshow in the southern city of Zhuhai, the China Daily newspaper said.
China is displaying a range of military hardware, including a new drone and a model of a next-generation fighter plane at the show, as it builds up its own defence capabilities and seeks customers for its products.
More than 30 foreign military delegations are attending the airshow, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The attack helicopter, designed primarily for anti-tank missions, aims to challenge the AH-64 Apache of the United States and Russia’s Mil Mi-28, China Daily quoted Chinese experts as saying.
AVIC also showed off another helicopter at the event — the WZ-19, or Black Tornado, which is designed for armed reconnaissance and the support of ground troops, the newspaper said.
State television showed the black attack helicopter on a vertical climb during a demonstration.
“The WZ-10 is one of the top three attack helicopters in the world,” China Daily quoted chief designer Wu Ximing as saying.
An unnamed Chinese expert was quoted as saying China’s attack helicopter is more manoeuvrable at low altitudes than the Apache, but lacks its thrust and firepower.
The AH-64 Apache — made by Boeing Defense, Space and Security — is used by the US Army and several other countries.
The Apache is powered by two turboshaft engines and carries laser-guided precision missiles, 70mm rockets and 30mm automatic cannon, according to the website of the Boeing unit.
China’s development of the WZ-10 dates back to the 1990s, when military planners observed the use of helicopters by the United States during the first Gulf War with Iraq, the China Daily said.
Chinese President Hu Jintao last week called for China to step up the military’s technological abilities, saying its most important task was to be able to “win a local war in an information age”.
In late September it put its first aircraft carrier, a refurbished Soviet vessel named the Liaoning, into service — its first step towards a fleet of carriers expected to be built domestically in coming years.
Hu’s call came amid tensions with several Asian neighbours over maritime territorial claims, including Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, as well as the US “pivot” towards Asia.
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China's 13 tonne helicopter gets official approval

Posted by Admin On Saturday, 28 January 2012 0 comments


The AC313 helicopter of China.
Asia's largest helicopter, built by China and weighing about 13 tonnes, on Thursday received the stamp of approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of the country.

The move means that the massive helicopter - AC313 - is officially approved to enter the market, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

After four years of research, the AC313 is also the world's first civilian helicopter to receive an "A-category" airworthiness certificate at an altitude of 4,500 meters, the AVIC said.

The aircraft can be deployed for emergency rescue operations, forest fire prevention, transport, offshore operations, medical aid, sightseeing and business trips, the AVIC said.

About 25 per cent of China's territory is located 3,000 meters or more above sea level, requiring emergency rescue authorities to use helicopters in more remote areas, said Yu Feng, board chairman and general manager of AVIC Changhe Aircraft Industries Group Co Ltd.

"Natural disasters in the plateaus of west China require immediate rescue but restrict the construction of roads and airports, which demands the appearance of large civil helicopters," Yu told Xinhua, adding that the AC313 project was launched after 2008's fatal earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan province.

The AC313 completed two trial flights to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in 2010 and 2011, climbing an altitude of 8,500 meters, thereby making it the first domestic aircraft to be able to fly in the highlands, the AVIC said.

According to recent reports, AVIC - China's state owned helicopter producer - is in talks with its Russian counterpart to jointly develop a 33-tonne heavy-lift helicopter as Beijing lacks heavy duty choppers.

"China can produce helicopters with a take-off weight from one ton to 13 tons, but only the United States and Russia can produce choppers with lift-off weight of more than 20 tons," Xia Qunlin, deputy general manager of Avicopter, a joint venture of AVIC had said in November.

Avicopter and Russian Helicopters were discussing its feasibility, which includes sizing up the model's market and determining both sides' investment shares and division of work, the official had said.
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