I do agree that China needs a new heavy helicopter to aid with the situation. I guess the earthquake gives them plenty of ammunition to get funding for such development. Of course, it would be the best if they can work with Eurocopter. But what does Eurocopter have that fits this 20,000 kg criteria?
June 11 (Bloomberg) -- China's military commanders said they
will push for the development of rescue helicopters for use
during disasters because a lack of equipment hampered their work
after the country's strongest earthquake in 58 years.
The government had to use Air China Ltd. and China Eastern
Airlines Co. civilian aircraft to carry supplies and rescuers to
the central province of Sichuan, struck on May 12 by a force-7.9
quake. One of the People's Liberation Army's two Russian-made Mi-
171 transport helicopters, able to carry a four-ton load, crashed
on June 1 near the quake epicenter in Wenchuan.
The crash deprived rescuers of the ability to drop backhoes
and other earth-moving equipment in the quake zone to clear
rubble, an army spokesman said. China, with fewer than 150
civilian helicopters, may need 1,867 helicopters worth $4.9
billion by 2013, according to the government's forecast.
``We've learned our lesson,'' Senior Colonel Ma Gaihe, the
PLA's operational logistics director-general, said at a press
conference today in Beijing. ``We will emphasize the development
of aircraft and specialist equipment that can perform diverse
military tasks in non-combat situations.''
State-owned China Aviation Industry Corp. II agreed in 2005
to invest 600 million euros ($931 million) with European
Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co.'s Eurocopter SA unit to build
helicopters in China.
Eurocopter and Avic II plan to produce a medium-size
helicopter capable of carrying 16 passengers by 2011, according
to a September 2006 European Commission statement approving
French government aid to the project.
Police, Rescue, Firefighting
The EC175 model will be designed for police, rescue and
fire-fighting duties, capable of flying in worse weather than
current helicopters with improved safety and fewer emissions,
Eurocopter said on its Web site.
The military deployed 10,000 troops and volunteers, and used
satellite photos, infrared remote sensing and global positioning
technology to locate the wreckage of the Mi-171 helicopter and
its crew in Wenchuan's mountains. The helicopter, bought in 1993
from Russia, was found yesterday, nine days after its crash.
``Wenchuan is very mountainous with thick forests, making
the region inaccessible on foot,'' Ma said. ``Satellite photo
analysis took two to three days because the helicopter's wreckage
could easily be mistaken for mangled power-transmission towers
and other structures that had been destroyed by the quake.''
China's military and foreign ministry may also amend the
procedure for approving overseas aid offers, making it easier and
quicker for overseas defense forces to send relief aircraft, said
Chinese defense ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Hu Changming.
Continual Refinement
``The process is continually being refined,'' he said today,
without elaborating. Japan's Self-Defense Force, which offered on
May 28 to use military planes to carry supplies to the earthquake
zone, switched to civilian aircraft two days later.
More than 69,000 people died and 15 million people were made
homeless by the May 12 tremor, with another 17,000 people missing
in the quake zone. The earthquake was China's highest magnitude
since a 8.6-magnitude tremor killed 1,526 people in Tibet in 1950.
The People's Liberation Army sent 130,000 soldiers and armed
police to the disaster zone, its largest peace-time deployment.
