As early as April this year, the test flight pictures of a new type of PLA fighter circulating on the Internet sparked heated discussions around the world, and this fighter is the Z-21 heavy armed helicopter that is highly anticipated by Chinese military fans. Some military fans believe that with the popularity of drones, heavy gunships are no longer useful. In fact, for the PLA, the development of the Z-21 is not only necessary, but also a strategic choice that conforms to the trend of the future battlefield. Especially after the amphibious assault ship 075 was put into service, the combination of the Z-21 and 075 is a match made in heaven.
As early as three years ago, there was a blockbuster news circulating in the Continental Army fandom at that time. Some media broke the news that the Chinese Navy plans to buy 36 Russia's Ka-52K helicopter gunships for $720 million and deploy them on Type 075 amphibious assault ships. After all, for amphibious assault ships, carrier-based helicopters are the core attack force and an important part of amphibious assault operations. However, with the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the performance of the Ka-52K was a big disappointment. Although this weapon has a good ultra-long-range raid ability, its weak protection, insufficient range, and limited detection range continue to be exposed, and the successive battle losses have made many people lose confidence in it.
For the PLA, whether it is an army ground battle or a naval amphibious landing operation, it needs to rely on Wuzhi's air-to-ground close-range strike firepower. Relatively speaking, heavy helicopter gunships carry a variety of types and large quantities of ammunition, which can provide accompanied ground strikes from the air from a long distance and for a long time, and provide powerful fire support for their ground forces. Combined with China's current defense needs, heavy helicopter gunships are needed on the Sino-Indian border in the southwest, as well as in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. Just when the majority of military fans questioned the Ka-52K, the emergence of the Z-21 directly dispelled our concerns.
First of all, in terms of size, its size is obviously larger than that of mainstream heavy armed helicopters such as the American-made AH-64E "Apache" and the Russian-made Mi-28NM "Havoc". YOU KNOW, THE MAXIMUM TAKE-OFF WEIGHT OF THE AH-64E IS 10.4 TONS, THE M-28NM IS ABOUT 12.1 TONS, AND THE MAXIMUM TAKE-OFF WEIGHT OF THE Z-21 IS SPECULATED TO BE CLOSE TO 15 TONS.
This also means that its armor protection, range, on-board electronic equipment, and the type and quantity of weapons and ammunition carried are significantly better than similar models. In particular, in terms of endurance and combat radius, with the advantage of long range, it can fully enhance the PLA's long-range deployment and sustained combat capabilities. As for the firepower output capability, the Z-21 has a very rich payload, from anti-tank missiles, rocket nests to cannon pods and air-to-air missiles, the Z-21 can be transformed into an "air tank" and completely cure the PLA's "fear of insufficient firepower".
More importantly, the Z-21 and 075 are the natural choice. First of all, the Z-21, with its excellent mobility, is able to provide close, high-intensity low-altitude fire cover for the beachhead troops in the initial stage of landing operations. Taking the landing battle in the Taiwan Strait as an example, after the first wave of strikes, our army launched a landing operation, and it was necessary to suppress the enemy's remaining defensive forces and ensure the smooth development of the landing operation.
At the same time, in terms of providing accompanying fire support, the Z-21 cluster can also form a "leapfrog unit" with various helicopters of 075, and even go deep into the enemy's rear to carry out special operations missions and comprehensively strike at the enemy's high-value targets and basic key facilities. In addition, in terms of long-range strikes, the Z-21 is also not lost to UAVs, especially in striking enemy reinforcements, command centers and other important targets, its lethality and destructive power are much higher than UAVs, which can create a favorable situation for landing operations.
At present, the People's Liberation Army has launched four Type 075 large amphibious assault ships, but whether it is military media or CCTV, it has rarely released pictures of its formation drills before, and there are few relevant reports. In this way, it is very likely that the 075 is waiting for the final production of the Z-21 before it will be tested on the ship. Once the Z-21 is put into service in batches, it will not only further strengthen the PLA's land firepower, but also make up for a big gap in the field of amphibious operations on the mainland. In the future, 075, as a long-range strike group of the Chinese Navy, will become another sharp sword in addition to aircraft carriers.