New attack helicopter seen as vital in any PLA operations against Taiwan, India
- The first images of the aircraft – which is being referred to as the Z-21 – emerged on social media last week
- Analysts say Beijing saw need for heavier attack helicopter for potential cross-strait or high-altitude operations
The first images of the new helicopter emerged on Chinese social media platforms including Weibo last week, with observers referring to it as the Z-21.
With a capacity of 10 tonnes, the Z-20 is heavier than the two Chinese attack helicopters currently in service, the Z-10 and the Z-19.
The new Chinese aircraft has also been compared with the AH-64 Apache, the US military’s most advanced attack helicopter.
Analysts say the new attack helicopter will be vital to operations in the event of a war breaking out with Taiwan or a conflict with India.
Yoon Suk-joon, a visiting research fellow at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs and specialist in Chinese weapons systems, said the Z-20 type helicopters, including the new Z-21, were ground force weapons that could match those of the US military.
“It is a helicopter that will offset the limitations of the existing Z-8/9 type helicopters due to a lack of engine capacity in the mountains of high-altitude areas,” Yoon said.
“This is the main reason why the Chinese military mainly tests and evaluates the Z-20 type helicopter in the Western Theatre Command.”
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That PLA command oversees a large part of China’s west and its western border, including areas bordering India.
He said the operational deployment of the Z-20 type helicopters had “threatening implications for Taiwan and India”.
Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said Beijing saw the need for a heavier attack helicopter than the Z-10, which is smaller and seen as a counterpart to older models such as the US Cobra and Australia’s Aussie Tiger.
“This is particularly the case for a cross-strait operation against Taiwan, where the [PLA Air Force] would seek higher performance [or] payload across greater distance,” Davis said.
“One interesting question that now might emerge is to what extent the Z-21 will follow the later models of the Apache, and develop a Chinese variant of manned-unmanned teaming (MUM/T) to allow the Z-21 to control armed UAVs operating forward to identify and attack targets, without putting the helicopter itself at risk,” Davis added.
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He said that could suggest the Z-21 would take a key role in any conflict across the Taiwan Strait.
“Although the Z-21’s range is not as good as the AH-64 Apache, after fuel tanks are added [it] will not be a problem crossing the central mountain range of Taiwan and entering the eastern region, or even the Philippine Sea,” Lu said.
“In addition, the Z-20 has been deployed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with an average altitude of 2,500 metres (1.6 miles). So that indicates that the Z-21 will be deployed in the western theatre without hindrance, as a deterrent to India.”
