By Liu Xuanzun and Fan Wei
As China’s independently developed Z-10ME attack helicopter made its overseas debut at the Singapore Airshow on Tuesday, analysts said that the helicopter has huge potential on the international market.
The state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has brought military and civilian aircraft in seven categories – fighters, transport aircraft, helicopters, trainers, drones, special operations aircraft and emergency rescue aircraft – to the Singapore Airshow, which opened in Changi Exhibition Center.
Some of China’s most advanced aircraft, including the J-20 stealth fighter jet, the Y-20 large transport plane, the Z-20 utility helicopter, the GJ-11 stealth attack drone, the FC-31 stealth fighter jet, the J-10CE fighter jet, the JF-17 fighter jet, the L-15A combat trainer jet, the KJ-500 early warning aircraft, the Y-9E tactical transport aircraft and the Wing Loong series drones, were on display at the air show in scaled models.
Also for the first time, AVIC displayed a genuine aircraft of the Z-10ME attack helicopter at an overseas air show.
The Z-10ME is a type of medium-sized multirole attack helicopter domestically developed by China with outstanding flight performance, low-air maneuverability, firepower, survivability, ergonomics and reliability, AVIC said, noting that the aircraft is easy to maintain and can carry out multiple combat missions in complex battlefield environments。
Compared with the baseline version of the Z-10, the upgraded Z-10ME on display has additional armor and sensors that give the helicopter a higher rate of survival on the battlefield, observers said.
Together with the Z-10ME, a wide selection of compatible munitions, including the CM-502KG air-to-surface missiles, TY-90 air-to-air missiles, GR-5 guided rockets, FS70B aerial blast fragmentation rockets, and 23mm high explosive incendiary ammunitions, were displayed at the Singapore Airshow.
Displaying the Z-10ME with a genuine aircraft at the Singapore Airshow shows that China attaches great importance to this aircraft, and sees it as a key product to promote on the international market, Chinese military expert Zhang Xuefeng told.
A genuine aircraft will allow potential clients to have closer interactions, Zhang said, noting that the Z-10ME is one of the most powerful medium-sized attack helicopters in the world with excellent comprehensive capabilities.
