The Changhe Z-10 (Chinese: "helicopter-10") is a Chinese medium attack helicopter developed for the People's Liberation Army Ground Force. It is designed primarily for anti-tank warfare missions but has secondary air-to-air combat capability as well.

Initiated by chief designer Wu Ximing, the project had early Russian involvement with Kamov Design Bureau of Russia under a contract with the Chinese government, but the collaboration was abruptly stopped due to fundamental design philosophy disagreements. The Chinese designers and their customer, the PLA General Armaments Department, preferred a lighter-weight, more agile air frame with less emphasis on armor. The helicopter was further developed by Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) and is locally manufactured.

Nicknames of characters in the Chinese classic novel Water Margin have been used to name Z-10 and its light-weight counterpart, the Harbin Z-19: Z-10 is called Fierce Thunderbolt, the nickname of Qin Ming, while Z-19 is called Black Whirlwind, the nickname of Li Kui.

In September 2016, the PLA announced that all of its army aviation units had been equipped with the Z-10.

Pictured here is a 1:48 scale replica of a Peoples Liberation Army Air Force Avicopter Z-10 attack helicopter. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Rotorspan: 8-inches

Release Date: October 2014

Historical Account: "Choppers" - The Z-10 features a tandem cockpit compartment at the front section. The airframe bulges below the cockpit, extending backward and merging with the stub wings and tail boom, creating a distinctive ridge dividing the top and bottom half of the blended fuselage, which are both canted inward, creating a hexagon-shaped frontal profile. This slim, rhombic configuration ensures structural strength, increases internal volumes for equipment, and reduces the frontal projected area and overall radar cross section (RCS). The radar-absorbent material is applied to the fuselage, further reducing the radar reflection and providing a certain degree of low observability.

The rotor system consists of a single semirigid five-blade main rotor at the top and a four-blade tail rotor at the aft section. The airfoil of the primary 95KT rotor blade features a significant camber with swept tips, designed to reduce the blade length, vibration, and acoustic signature. The tail rotor consists of two sets of dual composite blades (four blades in total) mounted in an angled, non-orthogonal (scissor) arrangement designed to reduce noise generated by the wingtip vortices. All blades are made with carbon fiber-wrapped spars with layered honeycomb composite for the skin, capable of sustaining damage against 12.7 mm (0.50 in) rounds.

The deicing device is fitted to the blades to increase flight safety in adverse weather. The fuselage is primarily made of aluminum alloy, with 30 percent of the mass being composite materials. The cockpit compartment is wrapped inside carbon fibers, while the canopy is protected by bulletproof glasses of 38 mm (1.5 in) in thickness. Additional protection layers made of aluminum alloy and kevlar are applied to the bottom of the cockpit, side of the engine bays, and around the self-sealing fuel tank. The honeycomb composite layer is applied to the fuselage bottom, while the pilot seats, landing gears, and fuel tank are reinforced for improved crashworthiness. The early model of Z-10 prioritizes protection in critical areas for weight reduction without sacrificing structural integrity, range, and payload. In later serial production, graphene armor plates are mounted on the side of the cockpit and engine housing to further improve the protection level.