Z-12 medium military transport helicopter

The Chinese helicopter industry developing a 5/6-ton class helicopter for a range of military and civil requirements. The program aims to develop a family of helicopters with a single propulsion system, with a choice of turboshaft engines for different models and mission. The three potential products include a 5,500 kg medium military transport helicopter, a 6,000 kg attack helicopter, and a 5,000~6,000 kg commercial transport helicopter.

In May 1997 China signed a $70~80 million contract with Eurocopter France to develop a rotor system, and in March 1999, Agusta announced it has also signed $30 million contract to develop the transmission system. The first flight of the new generation Chinese helicopter was expected to take place between 2005 and 2007.

Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.'s (P&WC) knew from the start of the Z-10 attack helicopter project in 2000 that the Chinese were developing an attack helicopter and that supplying it with U.S.-origin components would be illegal. When the Chinese claimed that a civil version of the helicopter would be developed in parallel, PWC marketing personnel expressed skepticism internally about the “sudden appearance” of the civil program, the timing of which they questioned as “real or imagined.” PWC nevertheless saw an opening for PWC “to insist on exclusivity in [the] civil version of this helicopter” and stated that the Chinese would “no longer make reference to the military program.”

If there ever was a "Z-12 medium military transport helicopter" the program seems to have been either confused with or overtaken by the Z-15. As of 2013, there was said to be an armed helicopter project unknown to the outside world synchronized with Wuzhi-10. At present, it is only known that its model may be Zhi-12. This type of helicopter, like Wuzhi-10, is an armed helicopter planned to equip the PLA Army.