India's Advanced Light Attack Helicopter & China's Z-10 Attack Helicopter
Both China and India, despite being the world’s largest military helicopter markets, did not have a suitable dedicated attack helicopter of their own in their inventory till very recently. In the early Seventies, while the Indian military had a limited number of Chetak helicopters armed with TOW anti-tank missiles, the Chinese, in their modernization thrust, had procured eight French Gazelle helicopters equipped with HOT anti–tank guided missiles. Over the years, the Chinese military has made deliberate and concerted efforts to acquire a state-of-the-art Attack Helicopter (AH) ex-import. Their efforts to acquire the Italian A129 Mangusta and subsequently the US AH-1 Huey Cobra came to naught, mainly due to the Tiananmen Square incident resulting in sanctions by the Western nations. Subsequent efforts by China to acquire the Russian MI-25/MI-35 AH from the erstwhile USSR also did not fructify. This led it, in 2003, to finally embark on a development project for a combat helicopter of its own. The result is the development of the new Chinese AH Z-10 which was displayed for the first time at China’s International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in 2012.
The Z-10 today is one of the newest, modern, state-of-the-art AH in the world. According to data available, China has around 60-70 operational Z-10 AHs with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), equipping about 3-4 aviation units. Reports suggest that the Z-10 is in the same class as the South African Rooivak and Italian Mangusta but falls much below the capabilities of the US Apache.
Chinese Z-10 Attack Helicopter
The Indian military, on the other hand, was able to replace its old and vintage Chetak armed helicopters with the Russian MI-25/MI-35 AHs acquired in the late Eighties and early Nineties to equip two squadrons of the Indian Air Force (IAF). However, the Kargil conflict was the trigger for the development of a dedicated AH, capable of operating in the mountains, including in high altitudes.
The inability of the MI-25/MI-35 and even the armed MI-17 to operate at these heights resulted in a critical weapon system being left out of the battle, for which India paid a heavy price in terms of casualties. Accordingly, the government approved the development of the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) by the state owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in 2006. The LCH is presently undergoing development flights and is expected to enter service by the end of 2016. The LCH is stated to be a multi-role combat helicopter with the unique and distinct capability to operate in high altitudes – an advantage over other attack helicopters in the world today. Even the Z-10, though capable of operating in the mountains, has no stated capability of high altitude operations. Once operational, the LCH will form part of the Indian Air Force and Army inventories.
Design and Development
The LCH is a derivative of the HAL Dhruv, which is already in service with both the Army and Air Force; in fact, the weaponed version of the Dhruv christened ‘RUDRA’ has recently entered service with the Indian Army with the first unit under raising. While the Rudra basically is an armed helicopter/ gunship, the LCH is being developed as a dedicated attack helicopter, capable of operating at high altitudes – it will have the same weapon package as the Rudra. The LCH development being based on an existing helicopter is expected to greatly reduce project costs. As per HAL, the projected requirement for the Air Force and Army is 65 and 114 respectively.
The LCH has a maximum weight of 5.5 tonnes, and service ceiling of 6,500 m (21,300 ft). The design features a narrow fuselage with stealth profiling, armour protection and the helicopter will be equipped to conduct day-and-night combat operations. According to reports, the LCH will also feature a digital camouflage system. The LCH has a two-crew cockpit. It will be equipped with helmet-mounted targeting systems, electronic warfare systems and advanced weapon systems. The project involves the development of three Technology Demonstrators (TDs) of which two have already been developed and put through various tests related to flight performance, including high altitude operations and weapons integration. The third prototype of the LCH is about to be delivered and is expected to be different from the LCH-1 and LCH-2. The third prototype is said to be significantly lighter than its predecessors and is expected to be as real as the actual LCH.
The development of the Z-10 began in the mid-1990s. The prototype of the Z-10 made its maiden flight in 2003. The Z-10 helicopter has a standard gunship configuration with a narrow fuselage and stepped tandem cockpits. The gunner is seated at the front and the pilot at the rear. The fuselage has sloped sides to reduce radar cross-section. All vital areas are believed to be protected by armour plates. The Z-10 attack helicopter was developed by the Changhe Aircraft Industries Group (CHAIG) and China Helicopter Research and Development Institute (CHRDI) for the PLA. The helicopter is being manufactured by Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC). The Z-10 helicopter took to the skies for the first time in April 2003. The first helicopter was delivered to the PLA in 2009.
The Z-10 was displayed for the first time at the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in November 2012 –it weighs 5.5 tonnes and has a stated service ceiling of 6,000 m. While initially it was thought that this project had received extensive technical assistance from Eurocopter and Agusta, it was revealed during the 2012 China air show that the design and development of the Z-10 had been secretly assisted by the Russian Kamov helicopter design bureau with the help of a program known as Project 941. However, irrespective of the above, the reality is that the Z-10 is operational and in service in the PLA today, while the LCH is still in the developmental stage.
LCH Main Features
Like the ‘Dhruv’, the LCH too adheres to the following FAR/MILSPEC Standards:
US Army Aeronautical Design Standard-33E (ADS-33E)
Flaw-Tolerant Rotor System: FAR/JAR 29.571, AM 29-28
Crashworthy Fuel System: FAR/JAR 29.952, AM 29-35
Flaw-Tolerant Drive Train with Over Torque Certification: FAR/JAR 29.952, AM 29-28
Turbine Burst Protection: FAR/JAR 29.901, AM 29-36
Composite Spar Main & Tail Rotor Blades with Lightning Strike Protection: FAR/JAR 1309(h), AM 29-40
Engine Compartment Fire Protection: FAR/JAR 29.1193
Redundant Hydraulics & Flaw Tolerant Flight Controls: FAR/JAR 29.571, AM 29-28
Aircraft-Wide Bird Strike Protection: FAR/JAR 29.631, AM 29-40
Crashworthiness Standard: NATO’s MIL-STD-1290
Crashworthy Seats Conforming to MIL-STD-1472B
Cockpit Instrumentation Lighting Conforming to MIL-STD-85762A
Avionics Databus: MIL-STD-1553B or ARINC-429
Autopilot Accuracy: MIL-F-9490D
The LCH's HOGE is estimated to be 3,500 metres, or 11,483 feet when it has an all-up weight of 5.5 tonnes
Embedded MIL-STD-188-141B ALE Link Protection
Embedded MIL-STD-188-110B data modem
Armaments and Weapons
After completion of basic performance flight testing and outstation trials, LCH in March 2016 test fired Rockets (70 mm) from its prototype, TD-3 in weaponized configuration
Due to their modular design concept, both the LCH and Z-10 can be armed with a wide variety of weaponry. These could be in terms of machine-guns, cannons, rockets and missiles, both air-to-ground and air-to-air. Weapons of the Z-10 consist of the 14.5mm heavy machine-gun, 30-mm cannon, HJ-9/9A anti-tank guided missiles (comparable to the TOW-2A), newly developed HJ-10 anti-tank missiles (comparable to the AGM-114 Hellfire) and TY-90 air-to-air new engine with enhanced horse power is under development and will finally power the Z-10 to enable carriage of 16 missiles.
Power Plant
Turbomeca Shakti turboshaft used in the LCH
The LCH will be powered by two Turbomeca Shakti turbo shaft engines [1,430 shaft horse power (shp) each] driving a four-blade main rotor and four-blade tail rotor. The same engines are also fitted on the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) (Dhruv) and Rudra helicopters. In fact, the Shakti engine has already been tested for its performance in high altitude operations (the Shakti engine is being jointly developed by the French Turbomeca and HAL).
TURBOMECA-AVIC WZ-16 Turboshaft
On the other hand, numerous engines were used during the design and development stage of the Z-10, to include the Canadian Pratt & Whitney PT6C-67C, Russian Klimov VK-2500 from the Mi-17 and Ukrainian Motor-Sich TV3-117. However, with Pratt & Whitney coming under the adverse observation of US federal agencies regarding violation of the arms export control Act transfer regime, the Canadians withdrew from the project.
The Chinese thereafter, with Russian and Ukrainian help, managed to develop their own engine, the WZ-9. Two of these engines producing 1,350 shp each, presently power the Z-10 driving a five-blade main rotor and two-blade twin tail rotors. However, this engine has proved to be too weak for the 5.5 tonne helicopter. With the aid of the French manufacturer Turbomeca, a new engine has been developed recently and designated the WZ-16. The new engine, with enhanced horse power of 2.000, will allow carrying of 16 HJ-10 missiles compared to the 8 earlier.
