Z15 military version: true or false ?

People say that China will manufacture a military version of the new Z15 medium transport helicopter.


It could be a intresting news because in the futur, China will have its own Combat (WZ10), heavy (Z8) and medium (WZ15) helicopters.

Any informations about that ?

At this time, it is highly believed by most sources that the z-15 will enter military service around 2015-2020, for army support, naval antisubmarine warfare, and search and rescue roles.

No formal PLA/N aquisition has been announced, so we cant be 100% sure

It's interesting that Z-15 seems to have taken the previously much talked about CMH project (aka Z-12).

I would think that Z-15 would definitely be the next "Z-9" in pla. Meaning that it will be a helicopter that will spin into different roles in both civilian and military field. I don't think it will get an attack variant, since Z-10 already fills that role, but transport/S&R are definitely likely roles for this platform.

On the side issue, I don't think we can ignore the mysterious disappearance of Z-13 and Z-14. I can only imagine that there were helicopters given these designations. Now, they could be highly classified project or they could be cancelled project? Why am I speculatin this? It seems that PLA has a need for an indigenous helicopter of the 9 to 10 tonne weight class. The progress of Z-8 seems to be quite painful. There has been speculation on Chinese forum that China might be trying to copy NH-90. who knows?

actually, having been going through many helicopters and looking at the Z-15 design i reached the eureka

the chinese are copying...AB 139


now this is the Z-15


it's has some differences, but this is the closest design and this company already has relations with china

Z15 is a new helicopter designed by AVIC II (Harbin factory) and Eurocopter. It's not a copy at all.:china:
The new civil helicopter is due to make its first flight in 2009, with European and Chinese certification set for 2011, the year in which production is due to start.(...) The EC175 to be developed by Eurocopter and AVIC II will feature the very latest technological advances in the cockpit and avionics, and with the 5-bladed Spheriflex® main rotor and high energy absorbing airframe. The EC175 will be certified for two-pilot IFR and single-pilot VFR operations when carrying up to 16 passengers. The helicopter will have a radius of action of 200 nautical miles at a speed of 280 km/h. EC Press release 12/05/2005
The real question is: Will China be able to product an military version if core avionic systems are from Elbit . Elbit uses US made spares protected by US non-exported rules.
In my mind it could takes a long time.

Are there any recent news about the Z-15 at all ???

Deino

Deino said:

Are there any recent news about the Z-15 at all ???

Deino

Click to expand...

should be proceeding as expected. There certainly hasn't been any bad news.