CAIC Z-10 - 'Fierce Thunderbolt'

[ItssLuBu 1,802]

CAIC Z-10 (WZ-10) - 'Fierce Thunderbolt'

 

 

History & Background

 

The Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) Z-10 - 'Fierce Thunderbolt' is a Chinese Attack Helicopter developed for the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) produced from 2003 onwards. Fierce Thunderbolt was the nickname of Qin Ming from the famous (one of 4 Great Classical Chinese Novels) literature the 'Water Margin' written in the 14th Century AD. Also sometimes referred to as the WZ-10 it is designed to work alongside the Harbin Z-19 in a form of 'hunter-killer' style mode. Early exploration into development of this particular helicopter dates as far back as the 1980's with its first flight in 2003 before being put into service almost a decade later in 2012. A largely compostite design this has been somewhat of a problem for the PRC particularly when it came to crashes and large sums of money have been spent developing composties comparable to the western NATO forces. 

 

The Z-10 features two different cockpit layouts, one foreign developed and the other indigineous with both featuring the same holographic heads up display. This somewhat modular design for LCD screens is thought to aide potential export customers in the future. Originally intended to have a fenestron tail rotor design, the increased power and weight resulted in a more traditional option becoming selected. Composite materials used in the cockpit, similar to those in ground vehicles are concentrated here in an attempt to balance weight distribution. Navigation wise the Z-10 features fully integrated systems, including a Ring Laser Gyroscope and in the future a Fibre version which can be swapped. It also has a somewhat more costly version doppler radar system that enables ground mapping and terrain avoidance systems. Electronic countermeasures (YH-96) is the first Chinese system to have RWR, LWR, ESM and ECM combined. Alongside this Helmet Mounted Displays and Night Vision Goggles are also featured.

 

Power stems from 2 x WZ-9 (Wu Zhou) turboshaft engine rated to 1000 hp mounted high giving a top speed of 170 mph and a ceiling of approximately 6,000 metres. This enabled the Z-10 to carry up to 16 missiles although this is risky and 8 missiles alongside other weaponary is the standard loadout. With the upcoming WZ-16 engines the Z-10 should be able to comfortably carry the full 16 similar to the AH-64. It is worth noting that this is not a particularly stealthy helicopter however certain measures have been implemented to reduce its electro-magnetic signal. 

 

In Warthunder the Z-10 would feature towards to the higher end (if not the end) of the Chinese Helicopter Tech tree, having similar performance and weapons loadouts comparable with other top Tier Helicopters.

 

Weapons

 

Cannon

 

Various types and calibres of machine gun are able to be fitted into the turret on the chin, with the largest being a 14.5mm gattling gun whilst smaller .50cal or 7.62mm can be mounted in as a single or dual mount. There are also provisions for extra pods on the wing stubs. Two types of autocannon are available for the Z-10, either a 23mm or a 25mm originally found on the Type 84 AFV however the latter has proved to be less reliable than expected. Coverage is 180 degrees for smaller calibres and 130 degress for the larger autocannons and these are all aimed through the pilots HMS. 

 

Tiān Yàn-90 - 'Sky Swallow' 90

 

 

Developed by the Chinese Aviation Industry Corporation, the Tiān Yàn-90  or 'Sky Swallow' 90 (pictured above) is the first missile developed specifically for military helicopters in engagements or dogfights. It features a 3kg warhead with a minimum range of 500m and a maximum of up to 8km. Weighing at 20kgs with a length just shy of 2 metres, it can accelerate up to mach 2 and is guided via infrared homing with a 20g tolerance. It has a rated kill probability of around 80% and despite marketing efforts remains solely used by the PLA.

 

Hongjian-10 - 'Red Arrow' 10

 

 

Developed by Norinco for the PRC the HJ-10 - 'Red Arrow' 10 featured a tandem HEAT warhead that penetrates around 1,400mm of conventional RHA even when protected by ERA. With a maximum range of 10KM and a length of just under 2 metres, it flies at 250 m/s in attack speed or 150 m/s in search speed with a weight of around 43KG. The 15G overload is also more than enough to counter fast moving targets. The Z-10 can also be fitted with earlier versions of the Red Arrow, HJ-8 and HJ-9. Similar to the Hellfire it has both anti ground and anti helicopter cabaility.

 

Specifications

 

General Information

Crew: 2

Length: 14.15 m (46 ft 5 in)

Height: 3.85 m (12 ft 8 in)

Empty weight: 5,100 kg (11,244 lb)

Gross weight: 5,540 kg (12,214 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 7,000 kg (15,432 lb)

Powerplant: 2 × WoZhou-9 (WZ-9) turboshaft engines, 1,000 kW (1,300 hp) each

Main rotor diameter: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)

 

Flight Performance

Maximum speed: 270 km/h (170 mph, 150 kn)

Cruise speed: 230 km/h (140 mph, 120 kn)

Range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi)

Service ceiling: 6,400 m (21,000 ft)

g limits: +3

Rate of climb: 10 m/s (2,000 ft/min) +

 

Armament & Weaponry

Guns: 1x 23 mm (0.906 in) revolver gun or 1x 25 mm (0.984 in) M242 Bushmaster chain gun

Hardpoints: 4 with a capacity of 1,500 kg (3,307 lb) useful load

Rockets: 57 mm (2.244 in) or 90 mm (3.543 in) unguided rocket pods

Missiles: Up to 16 HJ-10 air to surface / anti tank / anti helicopter missiles. ADK10 is reported to be the official name of HJ10 missile.

Up to 16 HJ-8, HJ-9 missiles

Up to 16 TY-90 air-to-air missiles

Up to 4 PL-5, PL-7, PL-9 air-to-air missiles

 

Avionics

YH millimetre-wave fire-control radar

Helmet mounted sight with night vision goggles

BM/KG300G self protection jamming pod

Blue Sky navigation pod

KZ900 reconnaissance pod

YH-96 electronic warfare suite

 

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAIC_Z-10

https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=600

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WZ-9

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HJ-8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HJ-9

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HJ-10

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TY-90

https://www.safran-helicopter-engines.com/media/safran-and-aecc-introduce-wz16-first-jointly-developed-aero-engine-be-certified-china-20191010

https://www.airrecognition.com/index.php/world-air-force-military-equipment-aircraft-/asia-air-force-countries-aircraft-military-equipment/china-chinese-pla-plaaf-air-force/china-chinese-air-force-helicopters-data-sheet-specifications-pictures-video/560-z-10-wz-10-attack-fighting-helicopter-technical-data-sheet-specifications-intelligence-description-information-identification-pictures-photos-images-video-caic-china-chinese-pla-air-force-defence-industry-technology-.html

 

Edited February 9, 2020 by ItssLuBu

[leroyonly 4,311]

Open for discussion. 

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

+1 Chinese helicopters coming this year, hopefully we'll see this.

[Milocat 4,855]

+1, this thing looks like it'll be a beast.

[霧 丹爪モ匕口丂 靄 466]

+1 I want to see this in game 

[Borotovas 4,500]

+1

[AUJason 85]

+1. We need domestic chinese helicopters in game :)

[EjectionSeat 5]

+1

[CaID 8,996]

It look agressive. I love it

[CakeJuniorMan 176]

+1, This helicopter needs to be added into the game because China and Sweden doesn’t have any helicopters at all so this helicopter would be perfect when this vehicle gets added into the game! I hope this vehicles gets added soon! Also This is a really good suggestion @ItssLuBu!

[NAYEONnaise 1,936]

can't wait for this

[CubicSquare 156]

This looks worth grinding for +1

[NAYEONnaise 1,936]

2.9 is coming and china has NO HELICOPTERS YET.....

Edited August 28, 2021 by NAYEONnaise

[tiger7742 260]

On 28/08/2021 at 18:29, NAYEONnaise said:

2.9 is coming and china has NO HELICOPTERS YET.....

I know...  >:(

[霧 丹爪モ匕口丂 靄 466]

Hope it won't take another year...

[DoneDirtCheap 370]

+1 

China needs some helis, Gaijin! Come on, let's go! 

 

[Kingtiez@live 606]

+1 It would be a nice addition with the introduction of the Chinese helicopter tree.

[DoneDirtCheap 370]

Or a damn fine premium pack heli! 

While waiting for the rest of the tree....

Edited October 17, 2021 by DoneDirtCheap

[MichaeL98 102]

8 hours ago, DoneDirtCheap said:

Or a damn fine premium pack heli! 

While waiting for the rest of the tree....

Yeah like the A129 International... Maybe make the prototype with WZ-9 engine a pack heli

[DoneDirtCheap 370]

6 hours ago, MichaeL98 said:

Yeah like the A129 International... Maybe make the prototype with WZ-9 engine a pack heli

Would be awesome! 

 

Hope someone at Gaijin sees this and makes it happen! 

[CakeJuniorMan 176]

https://www.helicopterspecs.com/2019/12/caic-z-10-attack-helicopter.html

 

   I found a cockpit for the pilots view for the Z-10! 

[Yontzee 1,675]

+1

[Pau1_Tibbets 0]

Cant wait to see it

[MDAT 0]

idk would it be fine if this version of Z-10 can serve as the top BR Heli with some radar-guided ATGM since the in-game performance of Hellfire is quite a bit ... disappointing... (and I think it would not against the secret policy since the photo has already shown in the social media for a long time.)

Edited April 5, 2022 by MDAT

[DoneDirtCheap 370]

Gaijin, please give us this in Drone age as the crown jewel of the Chinese heli tt