New photos emerged through Weibo of the Z-10ME attack helicopter, an improved variant of the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) Z-10.
Revealed in 2018, the Z-10ME delivered several changes over the Z-10, most notably additional armour, new sand filters for the engines, infrared suppression, and crash-resistant seats for the pilots. Reportedly, CAIC implemented these changes in response to the Pakistan Army’s requirements.
The latest photos of the Z-10ME now show it sporting additional features and new subsystems, including: a top-rotor-mounted sensor, potentially a millimeter wave (mmW) radar; armour plating near the canopy and under the fuselage; a revised engine exhaust; possibly a new defensive aid suite that may include an electronic countermeasures (ECM) system capable of radar jamming.
Pakistan had tested the original Z-10E between 2015 and 2016. However, it opted for the Bell AH-1Z and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) T129 for its future attack helicopter requirements instead.
Since 2017, Pakistani-U.S. defence ties underwent a chill that resulted in Washington withholding Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Coalition Support Funds (CSF) to Islamabad.
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