Global Attack Helicopter Renaissance Spreads To China

Attack helicopters are supposed to fly below an enemy’s radar coverage, then appear suddenly to strike where least expected. Fittingly, a new Chinese attack helicopter materialized with little warning in late March.

The unexpected debut of the Z-XX—or Z-21, as internet observers quickly dubbed the new Chinese type—fits a global trend. Even as hypersonic missiles, long-range bombers and next-generation fighters dominate headlines, the world’s attack helicopters are evolving rapidly as lethal threats multiply in low-altitude airspace.

• The U.S. Army is still considering a major AH-64 upgrade proposal
• Italian and Turkish helicopters OEMs seek exports

In addition to increasing in number, the world’s fleets are growing in capability, with a focus on dramatically extending the reach of their weapons and sensors, often by teaming with a new class of robotic, flying combat assistants. The latter are to dwell dangerously down-range, allowing crewed attack helicopters to coordinate strikes from relative safety.

CHINA

The new attack helicopter is likely based on the Harbin Z-20 medium utility transport helicopter, China’s answer to the visually similar Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.

Similar to how the Bell AH-1 developed from the UH-1 and the Z-11 from the Z-9, the Z-XX likely takes its drive train, tail, five-blade rotor and Chengdu WZ-10 engine system from the Z-20. With the Z-20’s maximum take-off weight of around 10 tons, the Z-XX is in the heavy attack helicopter class, the largest among People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft. In comparison, the Z-10 weighs around 7 tons.

Low-resolution photos show the main fuselage fitted with a pair of large sponsons similar to that of the Boeing AH-64 Apache, while its tandem cockpit and avionics nose draw on both the Apache and the Mil Mi-28 Havoc. Unlike the chin-mounted gun system on the Z-10, the cannon on the Z-XX is shifted rear to the underside of the gunner and pilot position. Two stub wings show pylons for at least two hardpoints each.

The helicopter’s engine exhausts are upturned to reduce heat signature, and the tail is equipped with high, very-high and ultra-high-frequency antennas; communications satellite housing; radar and infrared warning receivers; and countermeasures dispensers. Newer photos also show an active, electronically scanned array fire control radar mounted on the rotor mast.

The Changhe Z-10ME, most recently seen at the 2024 Singapore Airshow blistering with numerous improvements over the domestic version, could be a good indication of what might be found on the Z-XX.

“China’s continued investments in heavy attack helicopters can be understood as a gap-filling venture, whereby it is ensuring that it has the suite of air assets that can complete a wider variety of missions for the PLA, considering the potential of multiple fronts of engagement—South China Sea, Taiwan, etc.,” says Thomas Lim, a senior analyst with the military studies program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, a graduate school and think tank within Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

“With its core designs visually looking to be largely based on the Z-20s, the logistical and developmental costs are lower, as they have a domestically produced base to work on, while creating ‘room’ for the introduction of a new heavy attack helicopter for external posturing purposes, too,” he adds. “A win-win on both the functional and symbolic fronts.”

While China is also pursuing tactical drones and other asymmetric capabilities, the heavy attack helicopter will give the PLA hard-hitting capabilities, especially carrying larger and longer-range munitions. Such weapons are critical in the opening stages of any conflict where the primary objective is to take out key installations and assets within a short time frame.

China’s domestic military aviation industry has been a source of national pride for the country’s population. Lim believes the next hurdle for these projects will be exports, which will underscore the platforms’ true value and performance. “Import and export deals are a direct attestation of confidence in the assets—both performance and value—and this is something that the U.S. and other major arms producers have been excellent at for a while now,” he says.

Following land-based flight tests, a crucial step for the Z-XX would be deck operations onboard PLA Navy Type 075 landing helicopter docks, a capability instrumental to amphibious operations.

THE U.S.

No such new designs are in store for China’s main global competitor. The U.S. Army, after canceling the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program in early February, having spent more than $2 billion in development, said it would shift $4.5 billion in spending over the next five years to other priorities. The Marine Corps, meanwhile, has pushed back plans to start developing a high-speed replacement for the Bell AH-1Z Viper and armed UH-1Y Venom to at least the end of the decade.

The Army’s latest overhaul of its aviation plans breathed new life into the service’s “enduring fleet”—the existing rotorcraft it operates—while increasing emphasis on uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). However, the service’s new long-term budget plans leave questions as to how the overhaul will be executed.

Most notably, the changes focus on proceeding with fielding the Boeing CH-47F Chinook Block II after several months of uncertainty, starting with $700 million in fiscal 2025. Additionally, the service will enter another multiyear procurement plan for UH-60Ms, potentially adding 100 of the medium-lift assault helicopters to its inventory. The Black Hawks will be acquired even with the high-speed Bell V-280 Valor scheduled to enter service in fiscal 2030.

The budget plan shows some long-term uncertainty for the AH-64 Apache fleet, particularly with a new delay for the GE Aerospace T901 engine that is expected to power both the attack helicopter and the UH-60 after FARA’s cancellation. The engine, already delayed considerably, will not receive its preliminary flight rating until 2027—three years late.

The plan includes $570.7 million for AH-64E remanufacturing, covering procurement of 31 aircraft, though no advanced procurement is requested for future buys. Fiscal 2025 is the fourth and last year in the Army’s final multiyear procurement contract.

Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo tells Aviation Week that the overhaul shows the enduring platforms will be the core of the service’s fleet for a long time, “so we’re looking ahead, even beyond the [fiscal 2025] cycle for continued investment in that.”

That includes potential future Apache buys. Boeing officials have said they are pitching a modernized variant—beyond the newest Version 6.5 that the OEM calls the Modernized Apache—that requires the T901’s increased power, along with new sensors and weapons. Boeing says its production line is set to end in 2029-30 under the current orders, including major international buyers, and the manufacturer has been pushing for additional American buys, especially since FARA’s cancellation.

“We’ll have to look at it,” Camarillo tells Aviation Week. “It’s too early to say. I don’t want to give an answer yet until we get through this next funding cycle.”

Key to the Army’s aviation rebalance is an increased focus on UAS, including both the service’s Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System program and launched effects. The latter, which the Army has long described as a key capability to acquire quickly, has received a major refocus in the latest budget request. Specifically, the budget cuts procurement for fiscal 2025 by 50% compared with the prior year’s plan, and 2026 spending is dropping 90%. At the same time, launched effects research and development is sharply increasing—132% in fiscal 2025 compared with the prior year. The spending shows a shift away from bringing systems on quickly, as the technology is not yet mature.

The Army aims to field a family of launched effects across short, medium and long ranges. At an industry day in February, the service outlined a plan for a short-range prototyping award this year. It has been experimenting with Anduril’s Altius 700 for the effort, including a December 2023 test launch from a UH-60. At the most recent Project Convergence exercise in February and March, the Army displayed multiple systems, including the Altius 600 and 700, along with the L3Harris Red Wolf. Medium-range launched effects will continue rapid prototyping until 2027, according to the spending plan.

When asked about the shift away from procurement for launched effects, Camarillo says that does not tell the whole story about the Army’s near-term plans. This includes acceleration of the Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System program, for which $129 million is requested in fiscal 2025 following a competitive prototyping phase. He adds that $25 million will go toward commercial off-the-shelf UAS with which units can experiment.

EUROPE

Boeing’s Apache may be the backbone of attack helicopter fleets in Europe, with some 100 in service across Greece, the Netherlands and the UK, but the region’s rotorcraft industry is preparing its own new generation of competitors.

While initially aimed at the aviation needs of the Italian Army, Leonardo is hoping its new 8.3-metric-ton AW249 Fenice—Italian for “phoenix”—will fare better on the export market than the AW129 Mangusta it is replacing. In Turkey, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has flown its 11-metric-ton T929 ATAK 2 attack helicopter, though the company has slowed its development in favor of accelerating work on the T925 large utility helicopter, a mockup of which was displayed at the 2023 Paris Air Show.

Taking the same approach as the Chinese appear to have adopted with the Z-20 and Z-XX, Leonardo and TAI have opted to develop common dynamic systems. The Fenice uses the same dynamic system and GE CT7 engines as the proven AW149 military rotorcraft. TAI’s T925 will be equipped with the same dynamic systems and the Ukrainian Motor Sich TV3-117 turboshaft as the T929 prototype, although Turkish industry has ambitions to develop its own family of turboshaft engines for indigenous rotorcraft platforms.

Sharing dynamic systems between platforms and then wrapping a new airframe around them is an easy way for helicopter manufacturers to reduce development costs. Bell did this with the HueyCobra family starting in the 1960s. South Africa’s Denel also used the dynamic systems developed for its Atlas Oryx upgrade of the Eurocopter Puma to create the Rooivalk attack helicopter. The latter may soon receive a midlife upgrade supported by Turkish defense electronics manufacturer Aselsan.

Now advancing through its development program with two prototypes flying, the AW249—to be designated the AH-249 by the Italian Army—has been developed to meet the army’s need for a new exploration and escort helicopter, with improved performance, weapon capacity, range and endurance compared with the Mangusta.

The OEM has said little about the €2.77 billion ($2.95 billion) program, apparently due to the unwillingness of the Italian customer to release information. However, the aircraft is expected to make use of many of the weapons already integrated onto the Mangusta, with the Rafael Spike anti-armor missile as its primary weapon and a Leonardo TM 197B Light Turreted Gun fitted under the nose.

Many of the Fenice’s biggest improvements are under the skin, including improved connectivity, data links and manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) systems, while large area displays dominate the cockpit.

In France and Spain, a program to upgrade the Airbus Tiger attack helicopter has been scaled back to reduce costs despite increases in the two countries’ defense budgets. The Tiger Mk. 3 program was considered a midlife update for the aircraft, swapping out its central nervous system with modernized avionics, sensors and communications systems while integrating new weapons.

Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even revealed in January that the scope of the program, which he referred to as Tiger Mk. 2+, had been reduced in terms of its “technical content.” Several reports suggest the changes may mean the French aircraft will no longer be equipped with the new MBDA-developed Akeron LP missile, forcing France to adopt an off-the-shelf weapon. MBDA CEO Eric Beranger said in March that discussions were continuing around the choice of weapon.

Germany—the original partner in the Tiger program in the 1980s—has opted not to upgrade its Tigers to the Mk. 3 standard and instead plans to retire the type in the early 2030s, replacing them with an interim purchase of armed Airbus H145M twin-engine light helicopters equipped with Spike. Airbus has developed the aircraft with a suite of data links, mission management and a MUM-T system, providing it with about 80% of a dedicated attack helicopter’s mission set. Other European nations are following a similar approach. Cyprus, for example, is replacing its Russian-made Mil Mi-35 Hinds with the H145M, having sold the former to Serbia.

Even with these new European platforms in development, the Apache is likely to continue to dominate. The European fleet is set to nearly double in size if Poland goes ahead with plans to acquire the full complement of 96 AH-64Es it requested in 2022. That would give Warsaw Europe’s largest attack helicopter fleet.

Russia’s attack helicopters—including the Kamov Ka-52, Mil Mi-28 and Mil Mi-35—have been used extensively in its invasion of Ukraine, including for close air support along the front lines, with the Ka-52 in particular suffering heavy losses. According to the UK Defense Ministry, around a quarter of the Russian Air Force’s Ka-52s have been lost in the fighting, largely brought down by man-portable surface-to-air missiles.

To address the losses, Russia has integrated the LMUR Light Multipurpose Guided Rocket weapon, a KB Mashinostroyeniya analog of the U.S. AGM-114 Hellfire, which has given the Ka-52 and Mi-28 a greater standoff range.

—With Steve Trimble in Washington