Think AH-1/AW-129 class of attack helicopter is what they're aiming for WZ-10 to be.
But now comes a question: how much a qualitative improvement of WZ-10 than that of the WZ-9? Other than payload and the flexibility with the use of nose gun-turret, what else there is?
There is far more to an attack helo than the payload and a gun turret.
The question you are asking is akin to suggesting that MBTs are not much of an improvement over IFVs just because some IFV versions can carry MBT class main guns.
The biggest fundamental improvement would be survivability, and it goes way beyond armor plating. A WZ9 or Mi17 is still a thin skinned utility help at heart, and cannot hope to survive the kind of punishment a dedicated attack helo can take and keep on fighting.
While it is far too early to get detailed performance numbers, I would also expect the WZ10 to be a lot better in terms of agility, and is also likely to be a lot more difficult to detect and target than a converted transport, which all ultimately leads back to better combat survivability.
But the superior agility of a dedicated attack helo would also allow it to engage targets more effectively and aggressively than a transport helo could. This would boost the lethality of attacks and also, again feed back to improved survivability because the more aggressively you move and the shorter time you spend engaging enemies (thus also exposing yourself to return fire), the less chance there is of you getting shot down yourself.
You are essentially comparing a glass cannon to a tank.
