Z-10 thread

U.S. irked about Chinese attack helicopters with Canadian engines
Manufacturer says they were sold for use only in civilian craft
Last Updated: Friday, October 19, 2007 | 9:19 AM ET
CBC News

The U.S. State Department is investigating how aircraft engines made near Montreal ended up in attack helicopters in China.

The maker, Pratt and Whitney Canada, says it did nothing illegal. It delivered 10 engines to Bejing in 2001 and 2002 on condition they be used only in civilian aircraft. The Liberal government of the day approved the deal, a decision the present Conservative government is supporting.

But Washington is not happy. If the engines contain U.S. technology or parts, the company could be hit with big fines for violating U.S. export laws.

It has been confirmed that the Chinese military put the Canadian engines in Z-10 attack helicopters, which can carry up to 16 anti-tank missiles.

An American military analyst, Richard Fisher, said it should come as no surprise that China ignored the conditions of the sale.

"Somebody is asleep," he told CBC News. "I would suggest the Canadian government was not defending the interests of the Canadian people. The Z-10 is just one major military program amongst hundreds that China is pursuing in order to prepare for a possible war against Taiwan."

Fisher is a vice-president of a Washington think-tank, the International Assessment and Strategy Center, and a specialist in Chinese military affairs. He said the Z-10 could also end up in Sudan or Burma, also known as Myanmar.

Canada's trade minister, David Emerson, sees no reason to get upset.

"There are no more engines being exported," he said. "I'm not sure what the U.S. is doing or not doing, but as far as we're concerned, the case is really closed."

But a U.S. State Department official calls the situation serious. Under U.S. arms trafficking laws, Washington must give its approval for U.S. products and technology to be used for military purposes in a third country.

Pratt & Whitney Canada — a unit of Connecticut-based United Technologies, a big U.S. defence contractor — isn't talking about possible American content in the engines.

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crobato said:

Once again, the Z-10 is not the WZ-10. The Z-10 is a civilian helicopter. How do you happen to have the brochures of such? It would be a spectacular intelligence find if you ever land a brochure of a WZ-10, something most improbable because its not in service and not even offered for export. A commercial product on the other hand...

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AssassinsMace said:

Now it would be tremendously short sighted for the PLA to publicly display their attack helicopter knowing full well the US would work to stop any further exportation of such engines to China. So one can only conclude the Chinese probably can domestically produce their own engines for the WZ-10 and don't need Pratt & Whitney.

Now reading some forums mention that the Z-10 and WZ-10 are different helicopters. Is it possible that the Pratt & Whitney engines didn't even go to the attack helicopter. Ten engines means they could go only on 5 WZ-10s. Aren't some people saying there are more than five WZ-10s out there. Where are the extra engines coming from?

I love how Richard Fisher tries to use Darfur and Burma. Why would they need an attack helicopter that kills tanks? Why not mention Iran?

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dollarman said:

Is the WZ-9 based off of the Canadian engineor some of it's technologies? Or did it originate elswhere? And does this occurence hurt the Chinese? I have read the WZ-9 is inferior to it's Canadian counterpart...would that mean the Wz-10 will not enter service until later when the engine is improved to the PW engine standards, or will the helicopter fly with an inferior engine? Or perhaps it already has reached a performance level comparable to the PW engine, which is why China is not afraid to publicly reveal the helicopter.

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