from: www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20071008.aspx
Chinese Spies Build a Gunship
October 8, 2007: China is developing a helicopter gunship; the Z10, and recently released photos. Eight prototypes have been built so far. Despite the Western arms embargo on China since 1989 (because of the Tiananmen Square massacre), the Z10 is powered by a Canadian engine (two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67Cs). The Canadian firm says it sold the engines to China with the understanding that they were for a new civilian transport helicopter.


Z-10

Development of the Z-10 began during the early 1990s. China approached helicopter gunship manufacturers in South Africa and Italy for technical assistance. The South Africans turned them down in 2001, because all the Chinese apparently wanted was to buy a single Rooivalk gunship. The manufacturer, Denel, refused, realizing that the Chinese, as they have so often done in the past, simply wanted to reverse engineer elements of the Rooivalk, without paying for any technology used. Italian manufacturer Agusta/Westland was apparently more cooperative, and provided consulting services, and perhaps more. This was done in secret.

Pratt & Whitney Canada will not sell any more engines to China, which means that the Z-10 cannot enter mass production until China develops a suitable replacement for the PT6C-67C engine. That might take a few years, at least. Until recently, China refused to release any information about the Z-10, but for the last few years, there have been increasing rumors of Western firms secretly assisting in the gunship's development. The Z-10 appears to be similar to the Agusta/Westland A129, or the upgraded versions of the U.S. AH-1 (especially the AH-1 SuperCobra). The 4.6 ton A-129 was the first helicopter gunship designed and built in Western Europe, and was introduced in the 1980s. The Z10 appears to have a FLIR (night vision device), radar and is armed with a 23mm autocannon and hard points for up to eight missiles or a larger number of unguided rockets.  The Z10 is a Western style gunship. The only gunships the Chinese had previously were Russian designs. But even the Russians have since adopted the Western style, as pioneered with the AH-1. China has been developing its own helicopter for several decades. First they used helicopters and technical assistance from Russia, but for the last two decades, most of the tech has come from Europe. China will buy (license) technology when it can, but because China is a police state, and often acts like one, most Western military technology is unavailable for license.  So China steals it, or buys it in secret.

The lead paint will kill the crews before they're fully trained

the front looks like an apache, the rest looks like a cobra...wow, just wow

Those will look pretty in flames auto-rotating to terra firma.

cool more crap to sink in the Taiwan strait

Looks like like what the result of Blue Thunder and an Apache getting it on would look like.  I say sabotage it... barring that, introduce them to an F-22.

The sheeple are fat, dumb and happy.........Wal-Mart has a sale.......spend.....spend....

On sale next week at Wal Mart.

Quoted: Meh..Ive flown tons of em in BF2. Better than a Hind in handling, but the gun isn't as good as the Cobra. The gun on the MI 28 is almost as good as the Apache.

.............

Quoted: Airsoft reaches a new level.

The South Africans turned them down in 2001, because all the Chinese apparently wanted was to buy a single Rooivalk gunship.

If the chinese hadn't been so damn cheap, like say had they ordered 20 they might have been able go through with their original reverse engineer plans. This cracks me up.

until we get a pic of it in the air.

Quoted: Wow they copied the Agusta.

Thought that right when I saw it.

If this this is anything like their consumer products, I'm sure it'll work out great for them.
Not.

Quoted:

Where's that picture of an AR-15 with every accessory known to man, and a few others, attached?

Lets see is it really surprising considering EVERY SINGLE THING they make is a rip off of another country's design?

Quoted: Meh..Ive flown tons of em in BF2. Better than a Hind in handling, but the gun isn't as good as the Cobra. The gun on the MI 28 is almost as good as the Apache.

What's bullshit is when bastards will fly the helo by themselves, hop in the gunner seat to target a TV missile on you. Fire, then hop back in the pilot's seat. Freaking ridiculous.

Quoted: Lets see is it really surprising considering EVERY SINGLE THING they make is a rip off of another country's design? Quoted: Meh..Ive flown tons of em in BF2. Better than a Hind in handling, but the gun isn't as good as the Cobra. The gun on the MI 28 is almost as good as the Apache. What's bullshit is when bastards will fly the helo by themselves, hop in the gunner seat to target a TV missile on you. Fire, then hop back in the pilot's seat. Freaking ridiculous.

Hell yeah, most servers run by clans nowadays are very anti-solo seating.

That thing looks like about 17 tons of blue, lead painted dookie!

Does this mean we can sell Apaches to Taiwan/Japan/S.Korea/Austrailia?





-K

That'll lokk good with one of our Stingers up it's ass.

Quoted: Quoted: Lets see is it really surprising considering EVERY SINGLE THING they make is a rip off of another country's design? Quoted: Meh..Ive flown tons of em in BF2. Better than a Hind in handling, but the gun isn't as good as the Cobra. The gun on the MI 28 is almost as good as the Apache. What's bullshit is when bastards will fly the helo by themselves, hop in the gunner seat to target a TV missile on you. Fire, then hop back in the pilot's seat. Freaking ridiculous. Hell yeah, most servers run by clans nowadays are very anti-solo seating.

Wouldn't it be HARDER to be pilot AND gunner?

Quoted: That'll lokk good with one of our Stingers up it's ass.

Do we even issue Stingers to anyone but special forces?

It's Bru Tunder

Quoted: Meh..Ive flown tons of em in BF2. Better than a Hind in handling, but the gun isn't as good as the Cobra. The gun on the MI 28 is almost as good as the Apache.

And you can snipe with a Desert Eagle because Counter-Strike says so!

I wonder what it is within the Chinese people that seems to make them incapable of creating something new. They seem to love copying everyone else's stuff, but never making their own designs.

they'll make lovely cover for the fish when they crash into the ocean

If it has half the maintainance problems the J-10 had I won't be worried.



And as for the typical "The Israelis sold the J-10 to China!" crap, the reality is they gutted the design of all useful avionics, fucked with the rest of the design to semi-sabotage it and then sold it to them... Considering how badly the J-10 is working for China, I'm not complaining. Good on the Izzies.

Quoted: It's Bru Tunder

lun away! Bru Tunder shoot lockets at us!

Quoted: I wonder what it is within the Chinese people that seems to make them incapable of creating something new. They seem to love copying everyone else's stuff, but never making their own designs.

The Chinese were very advanced at one time in their history, to the point that a lot of our modern inventions are a result of their innovation.

The problem is Communism.

What kind of missiles is it carrying? I do not see any seeker heads. It seems to be too small for radar guided. Is it pilot guided like the TOW? If so, how do they see through a rear plume?

Wheres all the import racing stickers?

Quoted: What kind of missiles is it carrying? I do not see any seeker heads. It seems to be too small for radar guided. Is it pilot guided like the TOW? If so, how do they see through a rear plume?

They're not real missiles, just mock ups.