Built to hunt tanks and support ground troops, the People’s Liberation Army’s main attack helicopter is increasingly being prepared for operations at sea.
Crews of the Z-10 are training to fly from ships – a shift that could give Beijing extra firepower in an amphibious assault on Taiwan.
Manufactured by AVIC subsidiary the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation, the Z-10 entered service with the PLA Army in late 2010. It began documented shipboard trials in 2014, when Chinese navy imagery showed a Z-10 landing on the Baxianshan Type 072A tank landing ship.
The attack helicopter’s maritime role has gradually expanded since then. In 2020, army helicopters practised landing, refuelling and rearming on a civilian semi-submersible.