WZ-10 Attack Helicopter - Upgrades
Due to the limited engine power, the amount of aviation fuel in the Z-10 aircraft is insufficient in cross-strait operations, so this type of helicopter can often be seen flying with the auxiliary fuel tank. Future upgrades to the WZ-10A will likely include new a radar, fire control systems, infrared exhaust suppression and the ability to be flown from naval vessels. Future upgrades to the WZ-10 may include sensor package carried on the Z-11 light helicopter that will improve target acquisition.
Further development of the Chinese attack helicopters may come in three ways. First might be a major modification of the WZ-10 to a WZ-10A, with a takeoff weight of 8-10 tons providing advanced combat capabilities. Some Chinese publications have reported that the helicopter could get a radar over the propeller hub and generally be conceptually similar to Apache Longbow. Secondly might be the creation of a specially modified WZ-10B, with improved radar, infrared and acoustic signature suppression. Third might be the development of a high-speed attack helicopter, a WZ-20. The American V-22 Osprey combined the advantages of helicopter and airplane, with the speed of horizontal flight exceeding a helicopter.
An unknown number of China’s Z-10 air-to-ground attack helicopters have been upgraded with ultra-thin graphene semimetal to serve as an extra layer of protection from adversaries, according to Asia Times. A video appeared on China Central Television earlier this month showing one of the helicopters with "an extra armor module near its tandem cockpit" touch down after a flight. The video has not been independently verified for authenticity, and Beijing is known to keep its military secrets under wraps.
During a ground attack operation, the Z-10 would likely be called upon to take out hostile tank formations or other ground artillery, Asia Times noted in a 24 October 2018 report, exposing the chopper to a variety of anti-aircraft weaponry that might be to take it out during low-altitude operations.
Graphene is an incredible material with novel properties as compared to the materials conventionally used in making military equipment. The material can withstand 200 times as much force as steel at a fraction of the weight, Asia Times reported. In 2017, a study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology found that graphene — which is almost 1 million times thinner than a sheet of paper — layered on top of itself twice can "temporarily become as hard as diamond" and just as impervious to projectiles like bullets, Futurism reported.
Graphene is simply a one-atom layer of carbon tightly packed together in a hexagonal lattice. When exactly two layers are stacked on top of each other — a configuration called diamene — the material hardens and demonstrates magnificent strength comparable to that of diamonds, according to Futurism. On a curious note, Nature Nanotechnology reported that stacking more than two sheets of graphene did not trigger any hardening effect.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) unveiled in February 2020 its latest edition of the Z-10 attack helicopter, featuring exhaust openings that face upward instead of outward, with experts claiming the chopper's infrared signal will make it harder to target. The upgrade also indicates that the domestic-made attack helicopter is equipped with stronger engines, experts also said. The upgraded Z-10 participated in a military exercise with the PLA's 80th Group Army on February 8, according to official photos uploaded on the military's WeChat account.
The latest Z-10 edition is distinguishable from the photos, which features exhaust openings facing upward instead of outward like the early model, reported Weihutang, a column on military affairs affiliated with China Central Television. An export version of the Z-10, the Z-10ME, also featured this design, but was not intended for domestic service.
Having heat gas from engines pointed upward instead of outward can lower the helicopter's infrared signal, and weapons like infrared guided missiles will less likely lock on to the helicopter, giving it a better chance of survival on the battlefield, military analysts said. However, this design will also inevitably increase drag force, raising the power requirement for the helicopter's engines, analysts said, noting the latest Z-10 edition more than likely has greater engine power.
China's most recently developed helicopter, the Z-20, which made its public debut at the National Day parade on October 1, 2019, is equipped with homemade engines that are powerful enough to take the helicopter to plateaus thanks to technological breakthroughs, Chen Guang, vice general manager of AVICOPTER, the helicopter branch of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, told the Global Times in a previous interview in October 2019. "The Z-20 will contribute to China's future helicopter development as new models will learn from its advanced technologies," Chen said.
If installed with more powerful engines, the Z-10 could also carry more protective armor plates, payloads and even install an additional millimeter wave fire control radar on top of its rotor for longer attack range and higher accuracy, analysts said. A millimeter wave fire control radar was installed on the Z-19 light attack helicopter, which was displayed at the Fifth China Helicopter Exposition in Tianjin last October.
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