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On Dec. 23, at 14.11 Local Time, Chinese medium lift utility helicopter dubbed Z-20 made its first flight.
As the image (published on a Chinese Internet website and then made available by Alert5) shows, the chopper is clearly based on the U.S. Black Hawk type (China operates 24 Black Hawk procured in 1983 as S-70C-2).
Still, it features some peculiar things: the 5-blade rotor, a larger cabin and a different landing gear and tail.
Z-20 is believed to be a 10-ton chopper that will be used to replace Mi-17 and Mi-171 helos within People's Liberation Army.
there are only some minor differences externally between the Z-20 and the Blackhawk. There's a bit of a debate on the Chinese board as to where this Z-20 fits into the PLA force structure. While it's clear that there needs to be a replacement for the Mi-17/171's, there is already a 10-ton class helicopter (13-ton to be exact) developed in the AC-313, which is an evolution of the Super Frelon/Z-8. The initial conclusion is that the lower profile of the Z-20/Blackhawk would allow them to be stored in the 054A and the 052C/D's hangars thus allowing for naval operations on existing frigates and destroyers.
The Aviationist » China’s Black Hawk helicopter clone makes first flight
