In appearance, the Chinese Z-20 series helicopters are very similar to the famous American Blackhawka. It is not known to what extent the Chinese machine is a copy of the American design, but it clearly has a more spacious cabin and cargo compartment.
Chinese engineers known for being experts in so-called reverse engineering had access to Blackhawks legally purchased from the US in the 1980s. They probably also received from Pakistan possibility of inspection wreck one of the four machines used in the operation Neptune’s Spearwhich ended with the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011.
The Z-20 series helicopters entered service in 2018and were flown in 2013. The machine has more powerful engines than the American originaland her the rotor has five blades compared to four in the Blackhawk. This provides better performance in high-altitude environments. A number of variants of the machine have already been created, including transport, naval, search and rescue, anti-submarine, police, as well as a version for airborne troops and the newest assault variant.
The machine in the combat version W is equipped with container with optoelectronic observation devices mounted on the nose. It is estimated that there is a camera in the head electro-opticalor on Infrared. A very similar version of the Z-20, but without observation devices, was already seen in 2020when it was most likely undergoing tests. It is therefore possible that the Z-20W is now officially in service with the Chinese army.
The variant tested in 2020 was armed with four anti-tank air-to-ground missiles KD-9, or KD-10. This is a weapon guided in a laser beamwhose guidance head was probably borrowed from Russian precision artillery ammunition Krasnopol. The range of the missile is estimated at approximately 17 kilometersits disadvantage is, however, the need to ensure constant guidance to the targetbecause it is not a “type” bulletfire and forget“.
Source: geekweek.interia.pl
