The Zhi-9 (Z-9) army utility helicopter is a licensed-built version of the Aérospatiale (now Eurocopter) AS 365N Dauphin II. The helicopter has been built by Harbin Aircraft Manufacture Company (HAMC) since the early 1980s. .. The Z-9s in service with the PLA is available in three variants: army utility, naval, and attack
China signed a contract with the French company Aérospatiale in 1980 for the co-production of its AS 365N Dauphin II helicopter. .. under the designation Z-9.
Under the agreement, Aérospatiale would provide 48 sets of AS 365N kits. The first Chinese assembled AS 365N was completed in 1981. The initial 48 helicopters included 28 examples of the basic variant Z-9, which is equivalent of the AS 365N1, and 20 examples of the Z-9A, which is equivalent of the AS 365N2 with increased portion of Chinese-made parts. All 48 helicopters had been completed by the late 1980s. In 1993, HAMC signed a new contract with Eurocopter to build a further 22 examples of the AS 365N2.
In 1988, HAMC was ordered to develop an indigenised Z-9 with further increased portion of Chinese-made parts. In order to achieve this, HAMC experimentally built two Z-9A-100s, which were powered by the Chinese indigenous Wozhou-8A (Turbomeca Arriel-IC1 copy) turboshaft engine. The Z-9B, an indigenised variant with 71.9% Chinese-made content, flew successfully on 16 January 1992. The helicopter completed its flight test by November 1992, and was certified for design finalisation in December. Batch production of the Z-9B began in the mid-1990s, with 25 examples ordered by the PLA by 1997, and a further 7 examples in 1998. Over 150 examples of the Z-9B and its follow-on variants are believed to have been delivered to the PLA so far.
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