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So recently, AC313 made its maiden flight. As previously known, it is just an improved civilian version of the Z-8 series, which is basically Chinese version of SA-321, first purchased from the French in the 80s. In fact, the internal designation of AC313 is Z-8F-100 as shown in one of the pictures I’ve attached. Below is the translation of an article on AC313.

AC313 is China’s first large transport helicopter designed accoring to flight regulation and China’s only only self designed/produced larger helicopter. It fills a vacuum in the large civilian helicopter segment. AC313 is a traditional single-rotor helicopter with tail rotor tandem pilot seating, carries 3 turboshaft engine and non-retractable landing gear. It’s maximum starting weight is 13.8 ton and is suitable for use in ocean climate and other complex environmental condition. It can takeoff and land in most field type. It can be used to transport people and goods, do search & rescue, perform emergency rescue and disaster relief.

Rotor system uses advanced composite material for blade and titanium ball shaped main rotor. Composite material is used on 50% of the helicopter and titanium is used for the remainder. The avionics system uses the international standard’s 429 databaus, achieving digital integrated display control. AC313 reaches 3rd generation level interionally and has the following safety requirements:
- The rotor system can achieve 30 minutes of dry rotation
- fuel system and fuselage structure satisfy crash and radar safety requirements.
- pilot and passenger seating passed anti-crash safety requirements
- fuselage structure, flight control sytem and rotary wing system satisfies bird collision requirement
- helicopter systems satisfy lightning strike and high-strength radiation protection requirement
- cabin setup satisfies requirement of passengers getting out in emergency situations
- rotor and composite material structure meet the fatigue assessment based on damage tolerance requirements
- Mechanical systems satisfies the design requirements of high-energy rotor burst protection

AC313 uses composite material for rotor system and FADEC engine, large usage of composite material, integrated avionics systems, digital design and newest airworthiness safety requirement. It allows China to jump from 2nd to 3rd generation in large transport helicopter technology. Due to emphasis in maintenance detail design, service life reliability design and design, AC313′s service life usage economics has improvement over previous models.
AC313 has 7 special achievement in functionality.
1. High reliability. It has 3 engines and can still operate if one of the engines fails and can land when 2 engines fail.
2. Strictly follows fungal protection, heat/humidity protection and salt fog protection. Is suitable to use in ocean condition and other harzaradous environment
3. Large space. Cabin is 1.83 m and 23.5 m^3 in space. And average height Chinese person can walk in it standing up. Has comfortable seating and interior. Can be converted to VIP variant.
4. Can carry 4 tonne of inside the helicopter or 5 tonnes on a sling. Can carry a maximum of 27 passengers or 15 stretchers with one medical personnel seating and operational station. Can easily install fixed cargo.
5. Has long range. 900 km with full internal fuel and has ferry range of over 1400 km when carrying 3 fuel tanks.
6. Has excellent sterring system, combined with four-axis autopilot, operating load is small, good flying qualities.
7. Can be used in evironment from -40 to +50 celsius. Can fly an altitude of 6000 m and takeoff and land at 4500 m high airpot.
AC313′s well designed aerodynamics, advanced rotor system, rotor system’s low stalling rate, tail rotor’s strong ability against side wind have pushed Chinese large transport helicopter past technological bottlenecks. Has ability to fly in highland, mountainous regions and other complex geographical regions.

Here are some of the photos showing the cockpit of AC-313, test flights and registration:

So, it is clearly a heavily modified version of Z-8. Unfortunately at the moment, AVIC-1 is still stuck in the stage of co-developing helicopter with more advanced helicopter companies or modifying Z-8/9/11s. After years of struggling with Z-8 production, they have at least managed to crank up production of this series. As seen with Z-8F, AC-313 should at least get some orders from Chinese companies for different roles like firefighting, transport and SAR missions. I also think it will eventually be adapted for the navy to be used on future carriers or LPDs. It could also be used by the army for SAR or transport roles (like with Z-8Ks). If that’s the case, then they would have to eventually develop domestic engines to put on militarized AC-313. Either way, if AC-313 does reach the designed specs, it will be a step forward for the Chinese helicopter industry. Just as important, if the production rate of AC-313 can satisfy both civilian and military demand, it would also be a step forward for the Chinese helicopter industry which produced less than 3 Z-8s a year for much of the 90s and early 2000s.

Interestingly enough, we also saw a new version (or one modified from existing Z-8Js) of Z-8 carrying gun pod.

It is most likely carrying QJK-99, which is sometimes seen carried on Z-9s. Here is a link on QJK-99 in Chinese. This version of Z-8 gunship could be fielded on 071 in the future. It’s certainly a development worth keeping our eyes out for.

We’ve also seen Z-8KH join service in Hong Kong. So, we are continuing to see a lot of projects involving this old platform, which is now about to get a new facelift.

By Feng

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Mar.18 (China Military News cited from XINHUA) — AC313, China’s first independently developed civilian medium-lift helicopter successfully finished its maiden flight Thursday in Jingdezhen, east China’s Jiangxi Province.

Editor’s Note: AC313 actually is the improved civilian version of PLA Z-8 helicopter

9：40, the engine started booming and the propeller blades whirled. The giant body then slowly rose into the air and began its debut. After 25-minute show, AC313 steadily landed and an official from Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) announced the success of AC313’s maiden flight. The flight lasted 30 minutes.

AC313 was easily wheeled, the journey was safe, I am satisfied with this new helicopter, said Xu Guolin, the pilot of AC313’s maiden flight.

AC313 is a 13.8t helicopter with a carrying capacity of 27 passengers or 15 wounded with stretchers. The maximum range is 900km (ca. 559 miles), said Sun Cong， deputy chief engineer of AVIC. This aircraft was designed for a variety of uses, including search and rescue, fighting forest fires, and even assisting in fighting fires within cities.

Developed and manufactured by AVIC after airworthiness regulation, AC313 helicopter reaches the standard of third-generation helicopters, according to the official of AVIC.

After the maiden flight, AVIC 1 International Leasing Company, China Flying Dragon Special Aviation Company signed contracts with AVIC Helicopter Co. Ltd to purchase five AC313 helicopters.

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By admin

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As PLAN really started to expand in the mid-2000s, we noticed a growing need for naval helicopters. And as military shipbuilding program continued in the past few years, the need for more helicopters only grew greater. In the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, everyone saw China’s lack of helicopters and how that slowed down the rescue efforts. In the recent naval deployments to the Gulf of Aden, PLAN became even more aware of its helicopter shortage. One of the analysts wrote that the 3-ships flotilla to Aden was hampered by only having 2 helicopters. Helicopters have been really important in chasing down pirates and rescuing ships that are under-siege. The Chinese flotilla has obviously been hampered operationally due to this problem. On top of that, PLAN will need more order more naval helicopters for its future carrier and escorts.

The existing fleet of naval helicopters consist of Z-9Cs, different variants of Z-8s and Ka-28s. Ka-28s are used primarily for the destroyers and 054As. In the 90s, the ordered 8 Ka-28s from Russia as part of the Sov purchase for ASW and SAR missions. I think they have added some more Ka-28s since (we’ve seen Ka-28 pictures with newer serial numbers), but the total would still be around 12 to 16. There are about 18 ships in PLAN with hangars designed for Ka-28s (including 4 Sovs, 4 052B/Cs, 2 054 and 6 054As), so they really don’t have enough Ka-28s. You end up with situations where one of these ships would be carrying the smaller Z-9C or with no helicopter at all. Recently, they ordered 9 more Ka-28s from Russia to support the new DDGs and 054As under construction. Six of the nine Ka-28s have already been delivered. I think more Ka-28s are needed before the next generation of naval helicopter becomes available. In the recent years, Z-9s have proliferated in PLA as all of the production bottlenecks have finally been resolved. They are even exporting 6 Z-9Cs to Pakistan as part of the F-22P deal. Surprisingly though, I have not really seen pictures of new Z-9Cs coming into service, even though it appears that PLAN is satisfied with their performance. Despite it’s small size, ASW version of Z-9Cs have been designed to carry torpedoes and dipping sonar. In gulf of Aden, Z-9s have also been put to good use to hunt down pirates. My guess is that PLAN just wants to wait until Z-15 is ready to join service, but that will probably take another 5 years. And finally, Z-8s are making quite a comeback in PLAN. We’ve seen Z-8 productions ramping up in the recent year with newer variants like Z-8K, Z-8KA and Z-8KH joining service with PLA and PLAAF. They are also building civilian versions of Z-8 for firefighting and transportation, but we’ve also seen many new Z-8J/Hs joining service. Z-8J/Hs have been seen operating off 051Cs, 866, replenishment ships and 998. With newer large ships coming into service, I certainly expect to see more variants of Z-8s getting orders. At this point, Z-8s are really too big to operate on any of the destroyers, Frigates or smaller warships, so the current production level is more than sufficient. In general, I think more small and medium size helicopters like Z-9Cs and Ka-28s are needed for all their new frigates and destroyers, but the larger warships are doing okay with all the new variants of Z-8s.

Having looked at the current state of naval helicopter in PLAN, what does the future hold? I think that the current hi-lo combination of Ka-28 and Z-9Cs are nearing the end of their shelf life. The Z-15 and 10 ton helo projects will form the backbone of naval helicopter in the future. Z-15 would take over the role of Z-9Cs on frigates and smaller ships. Compared to Z-9C, it is larger, can carry more mission equipments (whether for ASW or SAR), have longer ranger/speed, have better flight performance and far more advanced avionics. The 10-ton project would take over the role of Ka-28 on destroyers and amphibious ships. It would basically become the Chinese equivalent of SH-60. Recently, we heard the news that China is trying to use European turboshaft engines for Z-15 instead of PWC turboshaft engine. The US government pressure against PWC for exporting PT67 turbo shafts to China put a temporary halt to the Z-10 project. At the same time, China had no problems in continuing Z-9G production, because it obtained all the necessary export licenses to have local production of Arriel-2C turboshaft engine. Fearing that US government might do something similar to prevent PT67 engines from being installed on PLAN Z-15s, China is seeking for alternative suppliers. If the US government somehow pressures the Europeans to also back off, China would then turn to the Ukrainians (Motor-Sich) or wait for a local engine to become available. I think that’s what will happen with the 10 ton helo project. We have not heard much about it, because it is not a collaborative effort like Z-15. We do know that it will most likely start off with an engine from Motor-Sich (which produces engine for Mi-17) before shifting to the domestic engine WZ-10. Since China is developing this alone, I would expect it to finish development after Z-15 joins service. This would also explain why Ka-28 is getting newer orders, while Z-9C is not. And finally, we have seen a recent news that China put in an order for 9 Ka-31 from Russia. Back in 2006, they ordered 15 Ka-31s, but that contract never got fulfilled due to the IL-76 fiasco. I had thought that the Z-8 AEW project would take away the need for Ka-31s, but I guess PLAN does not feel confident that Z-8 AEW will be fully ready by the time Varyag gets fixed up. Z-8 AEW is apparently going to use the new AC-313 (which is a heavily modified version of Z-8 currently under development) as its platform. I can see that Varyag would use mostly Ka-31 and test out some Z-8s. Once Z-8 AEW becomes mature, the future carriers should be using it instead of Ka-31s.

In conclusion, China has ordered 18 kamov helicopters recently, because the domestic options are not ready yet. Once the domestic projects are complete, we can expect to see a force consisting of Z-15 for smaller ships, 10-ton helo for middle ships and Z-8s for larger ships and carriers.

By Feng

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There is nothing to get excited about — The AC313 is just a civilian variant of the Z-8, something the flightblobal article failed to mention.China poised to fly AC313 helicopterBy Leithen Francishttp://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/02/09/338145/china-poised-to-fly-ac313-helicopter.htmlChina is preparing to fly its AC313 medium-lift helicopter for the first time in March, leading to
By Coatepeque

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OK, we’ll admit it. We got burned on the new “20-ton” helicopter picture, it’s a fake.For a group of guys who cut their “Photoshop-discernment” teeth on thousands of faked J-10 photos in the last decade, we dropped the ball on this one. Sorry for wasting your time…at least we got to the bottom before one of you print media types actually put it in a magazine or something.
By SteveM

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In what appears to be yet another incredibly compressed development timeline, pictures emerged today of a prototype “20 ton” class helicopter with mounted towbar on a Chinese taxiway. A mere 15 months ago Russian arms maker Oboronprom and China’s AVICopter signed a memorandum to jointly develop a civilian heavy helicopter based on the Mi-46.At the time the agreement was signed, the Mi-46 was
By SteveM

originally published at china-defense-mashup.com
China Aviation Industry Corporation-owned Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co. Ltd. has revealed that the Z-9WE light attack helicopter is available for export. (here)The Z-9WE is a militarized variant of the H425 civilian helicopter platform. The H425 was, in turn, developed as a civilian variant of the Z-9 military utility helicopter. The H425 is powered by a pair of Arriel-II turboshaft
By Coatepeque

China Defense Blog: Z-8 AEW Helicopter Unveiled

China Military Report: Lastest photos of China’s WZ-10 helicopter

Work on Varyag + full scale mock up in Wuhan: “In the past day, the Chinese military forums have been buzzing over what appears to be a full scale mock up at the Wuhan ship design institute (also known as 711 institute of China Ship Design Institute). Pictures of it can be shown below. From the look of it, the island is going to contain all of the radar and electronics on the real carrier. I find it hard to believe that the building itself can take the pounding of the helicopter or the naval fighter taking off and landing. I also question that the ski jump is strong enough to support a naval fighter taking off. I’m not sure if this facility has any aircraft elevators, but I can’t really spot one. So, I think this will definitely be used to test the radar and electronics that will be on a real carrier (in this case, it looks to be what Varyag’s island construction is to become). They replicated surroundings to make the testing more realistic. And I think there are other carrier operations that they can prepare for. Although, it’s hard to tell what they will be just looking at these pictures.

We see a picture of Z-8 and something that looks to be a flanker on top of the roof. From this, I think it indicates that naval flanker and Z-8 are likely to be form the air wing for the first generation of carriers. Now, if we look at the pictures, the Chinese naval fighter looks to be slightly different from your typical flanker. In the pictures below, it looks this fighter might have canards. Now, many people have commented that the naval flanker here (I believe J-15 is designation given in PLA) is a mock up. I’ve seen some of the helicopter mock ups they’ve put on ships during the testing phase and at least Z-8 isn’t a mock up. I also don’t think the naval flanker is a mock up. Although, it also doesn’t make sense for them to put a prototype on there when they are not likely to conduct flight testing.

Finally, we also have a bunch of pictures showing the recent modification efforts of the island on the Varyag. Although the pictures are kind of murky, it appears that they have several faces ready to be installed something like the APAR radar from 052C (aka HLJG346)

India building up border defences to face China’s continued provocations: “China’s hostile attitude towards India and its supply to Pakistan of advanced weaponry (most recently the Z9EC anti-submarine helicopter) is driving India in to a weapons acquisition and modernisat…”