A senior designer has outlined the capabilities of the Z-20T, the latest variant of China’s Z-20 utility helicopter, highlighting its ability to carry out both troop deployment and airstrike missions.
Zhu Minfeng, deputy chief designer at the China Helicopter Research and Development Institute, said in addition to rapid deployment and cargo transportation, the Z-20T can use its own munitions to hit enemy targets or provide fire support to ground troops.
“The helicopter can operate on plains and plateaus, and can use a wide range of munitions such as anti-tank missiles, air-to-air missiles and rockets,” he said at the 7th China Helicopter Exposition that opened in the port city of Tianjin on Thursday.
“As China’s first domestically developed medium-lift utility helicopter, the Z-20 features big potential for modification, which means it can be easily refitted into various configurations. In fact, we made a plan from the beginning of the Z-20 project to build a family of variants for different tasks,” Zhu said.
Compared with the baseline model, the Z-20T has two stub wings that can be equipped with modular weapons pylons, electronic warfare pods or external fuel tanks. It also has an opticalelectronic target detection device capable of scanning for and guiding munitions toward targets.