China’s Z-10ME attack helicopter makes overseas debut in Singapore

As China’s independently developed Z-10ME attack helicopter made its overseas debut at the Singapore Airshow on Tuesday, analysts said that the helicopter has huge potential on the international market.

The state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has brought military and civilian aircraft in seven categories – fighters, transport aircraft, helicopters, trainers, drones, special operations aircraft and emergency rescue aircraft – to the Singapore Airshow, which opened in Changi Exhibition Center, the Global Times learned from AVIC.

Some of China’s most advanced aircraft, including the J-20 stealth fighter jet, the Y-20 large transport plane, the Z-20 utility helicopter, the GJ-11 stealth attack drone, the FC-31 stealth fighter jet, the J-10CE fighter jet, the JF-17 fighter jet, the L-15A combat trainer jet, the KJ-500 early warning aircraft, the Y-9E tactical transport aircraft and the Wing Loong series drones, were on display at the air show in scaled models, according to photos obtained by the Global Times from AVIC.

Also for the first time, AVIC displayed a genuine aircraft of the Z-10ME attack helicopter at an overseas air show.

The Z-10ME is a type of medium-sized multirole attack helicopter domestically developed by China with outstanding flight performance, low-air maneuverability, firepower, survivability, ergonomics and reliability, AVIC said, noting that the aircraft is easy to carry out combat missions in complex battlefield environments.

Compared with the baseline version of the Z-10, the upgraded Z-10ME has additional armor and sensors that give the helicopter a higher rate of survival on the battlefield, observers said.

Displaying the Z-10ME with a genuine aircraft at the Singapore Airshow shows that China attaches great importance to this aircraft, and sees it as a key product to promote on the international market, said Chinese military expert Zhang Xuefeng.

A genuine aircraft will allow potential clients to have closer interactions, he said.