According to Liu Xuanzun in Global Times, China's top helicopter makers recently announced that a new type of helicopter with an innovative design has successfully completed its maiden flight, and this prototype chopper will lead to the development of the next-generation, high-performance helicopter for the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). No detail is available concerning its design, except that it is different from the conventional one, or about its intended missions: will it be an attack helicopter, a reconnaissance helicopter or a transport helicopter?
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Pilots assigned to an army aviation brigade under the PLA 76th Group Army maintain their helicopters in nearly motionless flight over a reference point at an ultra-low altitude before lifting off for a flight training exercise on January 5, 2022. (Picture source: eng.chinamil.com.cn/Wu Xiaofeng)
The new helicopter, which might have a completely different aerodynamic design compared with most current ones, Liu Xuanzun writes, could feature a higher speed, better stealth capabilities or a larger takeoff weight.
In order to break the limits of the conventional aerodynamic design, enhance performance and combat capabilities, push forward technological innovations and optimize the industrial development modes, the Changhe Aircraft Industry (Group) Corporation Ltd and the China Helicopter Research and Development Institute, both based in Jingdezhen, East China's Jiangxi Province as subsidiaries of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), launched a self-funded project to develop a new helicopter platform in March 2019. The project was reviewed in March 2022 in a routine joint work conference conducted by the two subsidiaries, the institute said in a press release on its WeChat account on April 3. The new helicopter has successfully completed its first flight and is conducting more test flights to verify its performance, according to the press release.
It will lay down a solid foundation for the upcoming development of the next-generation, high-performance helicopter for the PLA, the press release said. It noted that through the project, the two AVIC subsidiaries have resolved many technical problems in advance, and is promoting the approval of a national project for the continued development of the new helicopter.
As for now, China still does not have a heavy attack helicopter, with the Z-10 attack helicopter being of only medium weight, nor does China possess a domestically developed heavy transport helicopter, with one still being jointly developed with Russia.
