CHINESE ARMY GETS NEW ADVANCED COMBAT HELICOPTERS

According to media, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has equipped all of its ground force aviation units with advanced WZ-10 combat helicopters. Several WZ-10s have been delivered to an aviation brigade of the PLA 13th Group Army under the Western Theatre Command. The deliveries also marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Army’s aviation force. For more than two decades, the backbone of the PLA’s attack helicopter fleet was the WZ-9, which was developed based on the French Eurocopter Dauphin. Senior Colonel Xu Guolin, Deputy Chief of the PLA Army’s Aviation Equipment Bureau, told the news channel. All of the group armies will have at least one aviation brigade or regiment. The WZ-10 is developed and produced by Changhe Aircraft Industries Group. Western defence publications speculate that the PLA Army’s aviation force has nearly 1,000 helicopters.