The Harbin Z-19, also called WZ-19, is a Chinese light reconnaissance/attack helicopter developed by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (HAMC) for the People's Liberation Army

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

and the Ground Force Army Aviation. It is a specialized combat variant of the

Harbin Z-9 The Harbin Z-9 (NATO reporting name "Haitun", for Dolphin) is a Chinese military utility helicopter with civilian variants. It is a licensed variant of the French Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, and is manufactured by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing ...

, which is a licence-built version of the

Eurocopter Dauphin The Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) AS365 Dauphin (''Dolphin''), also formerly known as the Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin 2, is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It was originally developed a ...

Design and development

The Z-19 is an upgraded

tandem seat Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

version of the Harbin Z-9W (similar to the development of the Bell AH-1 Cobra from the UH-1), using mechanical components derived from the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin series, as the Z-9 series are license-built versions of the Dauphin helicopters. The Z-19 features a

fenestron A Fenestron (sometimes alternatively referred to as a fantail or a "fan-in-fin" arrangementLeishman 2006, p. 321.) is an enclosed helicopter tail rotor that operates like a ducted fan. The term ''Fenestron'' is a trademark of multinational heli ...

tail, reducing the noise level and therefore allowing it to achieve some level of acoustic stealthiness. The exhausts have also been designed to reduce the infrared signature. The helicopter is equipped with a millimeter-wave fire-control radar on top of its four-blade rotor. Unlike most other attack helicopters, it lacks a nose-mounted machine gun or autocannon. The Z-19 also features armor plating, crash-resistant seats, and a turret with

FLIR Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...

, TV, and laser rangefinder. It is also equipped with advanced helmet mounted sight (HMS), which looks different from that of the CAIC WZ-10. The general designer of the WZ-19 was Wu Ximing (吴希明) of the 602nd Research Institute, one of the Chinese top scientists involved in the

863 Program The 863 program () or State High-Tech Development Plan () was a program funded and administered by the government of the People's Republic of China intended to stimulate the development of advanced technologies in a wide range of fields for th ...

, after graduating from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1984. Wu had earlier participated in the designs of the armed version of the transport helicopters Z-8A, Z-11 and

WZ-9 The WZ-9 is a turboshaft engine developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, mor ...

. He also participated in the development and flight testing of another Chinese attack helicopter, the CAIC WZ-10. At the 9th Zhuhai Airshow held in November 2012,

Aviation Industry Corporation of China Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

formally announced the official names of the WZ-10 and WZ-19 at a televised news release conference, with both attack helicopters named after fictional characters in the ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is ...

'', one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known novels of pre-modern Chinese literature. These are among the world's longest and oldest novels. They represented a new complexity in structure and sophistication in language that helped to establish ...

of Chinese literature. WZ-10 is named as Fierce Thunderbolt (Pili Huo, 霹雳火), the nickname of

Qin Ming Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Em ...

, while WZ-19 is named as Black Whirlwind (''Hei Xuanfeng'', 黑旋风), the nickname of Li Kui.

Production

Harbin is developing the Z-19, which is expected to function and support with a heavier attack helicopter, the CAIC WZ-10, in the near future. Export variants will be designated WZ-19 (''Wǔzhuāng Zhíshēngjī'', 武装直升机 - attack helicopter), but aircraft used in China will be designated Z-19 as WZ is used by the PLAAF for UAVs (WZ - ''Wúrén Zhēnchá'', 无人侦察 (Unmanned Reconnaissance)).

Variants

; Z-19: Original version in the PLAGF service. ; Z-19E: Export version of the Z-19. The first flight occurred on 18 May 2017. A number of countries expressed interest in acquisition.

Operators

; *

People's Liberation Army Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF; ) is the land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army and the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927 as the Chine ...

Specifications (Z-19)

References

External links

AirForceWorld.com WZ-19 Attacker Helicopter
{{Chinese Military Aircraft 2010s Chinese attack aircraft Harbin aircraft Military helicopters 2010s Chinese helicopters Fantail helicopters Aircraft first flown in 2011 Twin-turbine helicopters